By expanding the roles of EYDAP (Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company) and EYATH (Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewerage Company), the government is launching the most significant institutional reform ever undertaken in Greece’s water sector, reshaping water supply and wastewater management in areas where roughly half of the country’s population lives.

In the first phase, EYDAP will expand its operations to 17 municipalities in Attica, as well as the regional units of Boeotia, Phocis, and Euboea, while EYATH will assume a similar role in Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki.

The relevant bill from the Ministry of Environment and Energy, expected to be tabled in Parliament during July, represents the first phase of Greece’s new National Water Strategy and marks the beginning of a gradual reorganization of the country’s fragmented water management system.

Under the new structure, approximately 60 water management bodies—including independent water utilities and municipal water and sewerage companies (such as DEYA organizations)—will operate under the organizational umbrella of EYDAP and EYATH. The effectiveness of the new model will be assessed based on the quality of services provided, response times for citizens, and operating costs before being gradually expanded across the rest of the country.

The reform goes beyond administrative restructuring. It responds to an increasingly urgent reality: climate change, prolonged drought, rising water demand driven by tourism, and major losses from aging infrastructure are turning water into an issue of national security and strategic development, requiring a fundamentally different approach to water resource management.

The Municipal Challenges

The current system is considered costly, creates disparities in service quality, and complicates both national planning and the implementation of major infrastructure projects.

Many smaller utilities lack the technical expertise and financial resources needed to maintain their networks or effectively utilize available European and national funding.

Last summer, when the issue gained prominence, the government even considered creating a single national water authority, modeled after Ireland’s system. However, this option was ultimately deemed too difficult to implement, and a phased transition centered on the country’s two largest water companies was chosen instead.

The need for reform is evident even within individual municipalities, where significant inconsistencies exist. According to Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, despite Koropi having its own municipal water system, around 80 water connections are still served by EYDAP. In Glyfada, almost the entire municipality is supplied by EYDAP, with the exception of roughly 50 connections that continue to receive water from another provider.

The second phase of the reform, the minister recently told local mayors during a series of meetings, will cover the rest of Greece. The ministry is considering the creation of larger management entities based on river basins or administrative regions, although final decisions have not yet been made.

Thessaly as the First Test Case

The first example of the new water management philosophy is already being implemented in Thessaly.

The devastation caused by Storm Daniel exposed the weaknesses of the fragmented irrigation system, leading to the creation of the Thessaly Water Management Organization (ODYTH).

The new organization is currently integrating the region’s 55 Local Land Improvement Organizations (TOEVs), with the aim of creating a unified irrigation water management system, improving infrastructure coordination, and planning the necessary investments.

The government views ODYTH as the first structured example of irrigation reform. If successful, it could serve as a model for other water districts across Greece.

A similar approach is also being considered for Crete, where the Crete Development Organization (OAK S.A.) is seen as the natural foundation for a comparable restructuring.

OAK has decades of experience managing major hydraulic infrastructure and supplying water across large parts of the island, making it, according to government plans, the most suitable organization to form the basis of a unified water management authority for Crete, following the model now being introduced in Attica and Thessaloniki.

Fragmentation of Water Authorities

One of the most significant structural problems in Greece’s water sector is the large number of organizations involved in water supply, wastewater, and irrigation.

According to the National Water Strategy, more than 290 providers currently operate in the water supply and wastewater sectors across the country. Many of them, due to their small size, limited financial resources, and shortages of personnel and technical expertise, struggle to meet their responsibilities effectively.

Fragmentation is even more pronounced in irrigation, where more than 450 organizations—primarily Local Land Improvement Organizations (TOEVs) and municipalities—manage irrigation networks, often without sufficient organizational capacity or technical expertise.

This fragmentation makes coordination, infrastructure maintenance, and investment planning considerably more difficult, and is one of the main reasons why the government is seeking to consolidate services into larger, technically stronger organizations.

Water Scarcity Is Changing the Landscape

If the institutional reform represents one side of Greece’s new water strategy, the other is the rapidly changing reality unfolding across the country as water scarcity becomes an increasingly pressing challenge.