The nightmare of no rain and severe drought, which deprives the EYDAP reservoirs of rainwater and precious snow that are the main water sources, looms over Attica again, creating a besieged situation on the islands preparing for a difficult summer.

This situation is exacerbated by fragmented responsibilities, broken water supply networks, and increased leakages, which create severe management problems in island destinations where desalination can only partially cover the need.

The first warning comes from the water reserves of Attica, which, although significantly reduced, are required to respond to increased consumption conditions by 8% since the beginning of the year. This unusual increase is estimated to have been magnified in June due to special weather conditions (increased heat and dust). Open schools, an early heatwave, and people staying in Athens contributed to this.

EYDAP’s revealing figures show that from a safe area of 1.1 billion to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water in previous years across all four reservoirs (Evinos, Mornos, Marathon Lake, Yiliki), reserves are now flirting with 800 million cubic meters, with no one able to predict the next months’ course safely. “Each year Athens consumes 400 million cubic meters of water, which, in a good hydrological season from October to May, we make up for the quantities lost the previous year,” explains EYDAP’s general director of Water Supply, Giorgos Karagiannis. However, we have had two consecutive years where the incoming water is much less than the outgoing water, while consumption is increasing.

Activate Protocols

To address the water shortage, EYDAP has decided to activate all prescribed security protocols and proceed with alternative solutions to deal with the new reality.

In this context, it activates the reserve branch of Yiliki, essentially putting all water supply sources into operation with the aim of providing more water to the Evinos-Mornos water system, the main source of water supply for the city, which will supply the Polydendri and Galatsi refineries and Marathon Lake. The other two refineries of the Water Supply and Sewerage Company (Aspropyrgos, Menidi) will continue to receive water from the Evinos-Mornos reservoirs. The second measure activated by EYDAP is the operation of old wells that were put into use several decades ago (late ’80s to early ’90s) when Athens faced prolonged water shortages that severely tested the Basin and necessitated the Evinos Dam as another valuable water reservoir.

With the activation of Yiliki and the springs of Mavrosouvala in the Malakasa region, it is estimated that reserves of more than 300,000 cubic meters of water will rise on a daily basis.

Additionally, EYDAP is looking at further solutions and investments to face a potential prolongation of the drought, which could create serious problems in the city’s water supply. In this direction, alternative scenarios are being studied, such as the search for new water pumping sources from different catchment basins, while the use of desalination is also being considered in combination.

Material Level Dropped

The lack of rain and, more importantly, snow, which actually helps to fill the EYDAP reservoirs, has significantly lowered the water reserves of Yiliki. For this reason, above-ground pumping stations cannot be activated, resulting in technical work being in full progress recently to set up floating platforms in the center of the lake to pump water and send it to Attica.

“Next year we will all face each other. Water will not be lacking from EYDAP; it will be lacking from the whole world, and there are no magic solutions,” emphasizes Mr. Karagiannis. To find more water, “we need plus Athena, and she is moving, with the aim of better management and pushing back the clock until the good hydrological periods return.”