Waterworks stalled by delays, politics

The capital’s Marathon Lake reservoir and dam are seen successful a record photo. Levels astatine reservoirs crossed the state person dropped astatine alarming rates successful caller years owed to a operation of precocious temperatures, debased rainfall, accrued consumption, waste and leakages. [InTime News]

The country’s declining water reserves person caught the attraction of the authorities implicit the past year. But the attraction hasn’t translated into action, partially due to the fact that of fearfulness of section authorities’ absorption to the consolidation of the municipal water and sewage companies.

But the consolidation got scant attraction successful Monday’s gathering astatine Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office, besides attended by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, the CEO of the Athens Water and Sewage Company (EYDAP), and different officials. Instead, they discussed the two projects intended to supply alleviation to the superior area, where much than 40% of Greece’s colonisation is concentrated.

Athens is getting its water from respective sources, the main of them being the astir distant ones, that is, the rivers Evinos and Mornos. According to EYDAP’s regular bulletin, the Mornos’ reservoirs contained 169 cardinal cubic meters of water, a historical low, and the Evinos’ 47 cardinal cu.m. A year ago, connected October 8, the reserves were 300 cardinal cu.m. and 40.3 cardinal cu.m., respectively.

A year ago, the Environment Ministry and EYDAP had announced two projects to relieve the situation: two tunnels, 12 and 7 kilometers long, respectively, to link two smaller rivers to the Evinos, astatine an estimated outgo of €450 million; and besides a desalination works successful Thisvi, successful the determination unit of Viotia, expected to outgo €100 million.

A year later, not adjacent the calls for bids person been published. The excuse is that different regions look worse problems.

The consolidation of the water and sewage authorities has besides stalled, but for governmental reasons: Papastavrou and Interior Minister Theodoros Livanios are opposed, fearing the absorption of the municipalities to losing power implicit their respective companies. The absorption is to the proposal, by Hatzidakis, to consolidate the water authorities to 45; the thought of a single authorization for the whole country, arsenic is the lawsuit successful Ireland, was hardly considered.