Greece: Range of circumstances and region analysis
Introduction
The majority of the countries of the
Mediterranean region are characterized by a strong seasonal distribution of
precipitation, which may be one of the main reasons for the water scarcity problems
that they are facing.
Map 1. Greece in the Mediterranean
Although Greece
has one of the greatest water resources potentials per capita in the
Mediterranean area, and should theoretically have ample water for its population
and traditional water uses, water is not evenly distributed in space and time. The
maximum precipitation is recorded in the western parts, where the available water
resources are consequently plentiful, while in other regions of the country precipitation
is much lower and available water resources are insufficient to meet the demand.
Due to this inequality in water distribution, both in space and in time, some
areas of Greece such as Attica and the Aegean Islands are facing long-term water shortage problems.
The permanent population of Greece
according to the 2001 census was 10,964,080 inhabitants. The recorded tourist
arrivals for 1998 were 11,363,822.
Map 2. Surface waters in Greece
Table 1. Summary of Greece’s physical characteristics
|
Background
|
Description
|
|
Climate |
In general, the climate is Mediterranean but varies significantly
throughout the country due to different factors, such as that the
country is almost surrounded by sea, its geomorphology, and the north – south
direction of the main mountainous chain. Thus, the North – North West tends to be cold
with severe winters, whereas the South – South East and the islands are temperate.
In the winter the air masses that affect the climate are cold and dry N - NE
(due to the Siberian anticyclone) and warm and wet S – SW (due to the Azores anticyclone).
In the summer the prevailing system is of northern, dry, continental winds.
The annual precipitation varies
from 200 mm in the plains and insular regions, to 2150 mm in the mountainous
regions.
|
|
Geomorphology
|
Greece is mostly a mountainous
country. Its main mountainous chain is that of the Pindos Mountains, which run
in the N, NW – S, SE direction and cover part of West Macedonia, Epirus,
Peloponnesus and Crete forming a continuation of the Alpine folds and
upraises. Another significant mountain chain is Rhodope, which runs along the
northern borders of the country. One of the main characteristics
of the country is its extended coastline and the significant number of
islands.
In Greece there are no plains in the
geographical sense but only basins formed between mountain chains, broadened due to the corrosive action of rivers.
|
|
Geology
|
Formations are mainly comprised of
limestone (with many karstic horizons) and sedimentary rocks (flysch,
schistones, etc). There are also metamorphic, igneous and volcanic rocks, as
well as tertiary and quaternary deposits.
|
|
Ground
Water
|
Many aquifers have been formed primarily
in the sedimentary materials and the estimated amount of stored ground water
is 10,300 hm3/year.
|
|
Surface
Water
|
There are 765 recorded streams, 45
of which are perennial. Four rivers flow from the northern
countries into Greece, and one river crosses the
border into Albania. There are many seasonal
springs that feed into small streams. There are more than fifty lakes
in Greece, three of which are trans-boundary.
|
|
Water storage features
|
Dams of differing capacities have
been constructed for domestic supply and irrigation purposes and the production of
hydroelectric power. There are also several small
water reservoirs that are used mainly for irrigation.
|
Map3. Precipitation in Greece
1. Overview of the country
1.1.
Water
Demand and Supply Status
Almost 100% of the Greek population is
connected to water supply and power utilities, while 76% of the population is
connected to sewerage and wastewater treatment networks. Generally, water
demand in Greece peaks in the hot and dry summer months, when water availability is
at its lowest, due to the decrease in precipitation. The summer peak is due to
the heat that encourages increased water usage, to the influx of visitors to
the country during the summer tourist season and to the current irrigation
practices and cultivated crop types.
There is a lot of data regarding the
natural environment for the majority of Greece.
However, they are not usually stored in relevant databases, and considerable
amount of effort and research are required to retrieve them. In addition, not
all the available data are valid, some are outdated or unreliable. There have
been considerable efforts lately to collect, categorize and verify the
available data, particularly in the HydroloGIS system. Overall however, it may
be said that data availability regarding the natural environment is good. It is
not so regarding water demand and supply, especially on what refers to the
agricultural use of the water.
·
Regarding domestic and
industrial water use, there are data on urban areas and the biggest
settlements, which may be made available by the water companies and utilities.
In smaller communities, the data are scarce and non-dependable. Overall, data
are mostly available where organized water utilities operate.
·
Regarding agricultural water use,
the volumes are usually estimated on the basis of the area of irrigated land (according
to the Greek statistical services) multiplied by an
index of irrigation requirement according to cultivation type. Since a large
part of the water used for irrigation is obtained through private drills, often
without a license, there are no exact measurements of the full volume of water
used for irrigation, but only of the volumes provided by the local public
irrigation networks.
Table 2. Annual water balance
|
|
Flows (hm3/y)
|
|
Precipitation
|
113,402
|
|
Surface water evapotranspiration losses
(assumed as 50% of precipitation)
|
-56,701
|
|
Surface water flows
|
58,700
|
|
Groundwater flow
|
10,300
|
|
Net potential surface and groundwater
available
|
69,000
|
|
Net exploitable surface and groundwater
|
5,480 – 7,940
|
In some parts of the country, in addition
to the limited water resources, water pressure may also be attributed to the large
influx of visitors from other parts of the country or from abroad. Figures for
tourist arrivals vary from year to year and between measurements. The
Aegean
Islands have
the highest visitor/tourist number compared to permanent population. In
August the peak number of visitors to the Aegean
Islands is on
average ten times greater than the local population, and in certain islands
it is even thirty times greater.
About 14 km3/y of water
entering Greece (about 30% of total average annual water resources) originates in
neighboring nations, where the water is both abstracted and used for effluent
disposal. Thus, conflict arises in cases that the rivers are overabstracted
upstream, and where the quality of the water deteriorates to the point that it
cannot be used for its intended use downstream. Since international agreements
are still pending and the exploitation rate is increasing in the upstream
countries, quantity conflicts are also likely to occur.
Map 4. Potential Evapotranspiration in Greek hydrological basins
Given the water scarcity observed in
parts of the country, conflicts are unavoidable:
· In urban centers, where the main area
for conflict is the transfer of water from other, richer in water resources regions,
or the exploitation of water resources that would be used for irrigation. Cases
of water deficient urban centers are the Metropolitan Athens area and
Thessaloniki (or Thessalonica).
· In agricultural areas, where conflict arises due to the excessive
usage for irrigation purposes of water that could
be used for domestic supply, tourist activities, and
for maintaining the ecological characteristics of the surface and ground water
of the area. The agricultural activities and practices in Greece have neither been “modernized” nor adapted to current requirements
and standards. One consequence is the vast amounts of water used for irrigation
(irrigation uses almost 85%, while domestic uses are 13% and industrial uses
are 2%), that could be drastically reduced through the introduction of
more efficient irrigation networks and better selection of crops to suit the climate.
· In areas dependent on tourism, and
particularly in the Aegean islands, conflicts are very intense. During the
summer months, water demand reaches its peak both for irrigation and domestic supply; in some islands the summer peak can reach up to thirty times
the domestic needs of the permanent population. As the domestic supply takes
priority over the use for irrigation, conflicts invariably arise between the municipal
water suppliers and the local farmers. Water resources in the Greek islands are
very limited, and with few exceptions consist of groundwater contained in the
local aquifers. The amount of water that can be abstracted is limited, as
overabstraction of those aquifers leads to salinization of the water rendering
it mostly unusable. The soils in the islands are extremely vulnerable to
erosion, with resulting problems in the water resources (reservoir
sedimentation, stream bed stability etc.). In this regard, the future of the
islands may be threatened by increasing stress in the
coastal areas, expanding differences between tourist areas and the rural
hinterlands, serious water resources interdependencies, high susceptibility to
pollution, and the sensitivity between the water and soil equilibrium.
1.2. Environment and protection
Overall, the coastal waters of Greece
are of good quality, with the exception of the areas where effluents from the
larger cities (Athens, Thessaloniki, Volos) are discharged. The same cannot however be said for the surface
and ground waters. Until now, water pollution has been one of the main issues
in trans-boundary water resources, as the disposal of raw domestic and
industrial effluents has had profound effects on rivers like the Axios and
their estuaries. However, despite the high levels of industrial pollutants in
Greek rivers that pass through the upstream Balkan nations, the major sources
of water pollution within Greece
are agricultural runoff and untreated domestic effluents. Ío effluent charging systems exist and the sewage is discharged into the wastewater system for a
nominal charge.
Domestic effluents and agrochemicals are
a major source of surface and groundwater pollution in many parts of the country.
Despite the existing EU legislation for all communities with a population above
2000 inhabitants to be connected to wastewater treatment plants by the year
2000, such progress could not be documented. The quality of Greek river systems is
also dependent on the time of the year. Water levels decrease significantly in the
summer, thus allowing higher concentrations of pollutants. Furthermore, overabstraction and saline intrusion in the underground aquifers exacerbates
the problem of groundwater deterioration and increases the water shortage
problems.
Map 5. Quality and quantity problem areas
Another issue that should be mentioned
is the occurrence of periodic droughts and floods, occurring in increasing
frequency in the recent years. In the last decade, there were two serious
droughts that affected the country, and particularly the capital city which
depends on massive water transfers. The combination of prolonged drought periods with
intermittent floods after torrential rainfall also worsens the pollution
problems of urban and agricultural runoff, particularly in large urban centers
like Athens, and agricultural plains like Thessaly.
1.3. Water laws and regulations
The administration and management of water is at the moment
undergoing major changes due to the process of Greek legislation harmonization
with respect to the European Water Framework Directive. At present, new
legislation has been announced but not yet submitted for approval to the
Parliament. Therefore the description of the institutional framework and
management of water resources in the following paragraphs refers to the current
situation and does not reflect the Water Framework Directive values and
principles.
In the Greek legal system there is
a wide framework of laws and regulations for the allocation of water resources, the
management of water resources and services, and the quality and quantity
aspects of water regarding each use. According to Article 24 of the Greek
Constitution, the protection of the natural environment is not only a
responsibility of the state, but also of the citizens. The state is under
obligation to take preventive and corrective measures for the protection of the
natural environment in the framework of sustainability. These measures should
be taken both on the legislative and the administrative level.
The protection of water resources is also
regulated by a number of international agreements and legislation, such as the
Ramsar international agreement on the protection of internationally
important wetlands. Several EU directives on the protection of waters and
public health have been adapted by the Greek legislation (98/83/EC, 91/767/ EC,
87/217/ EC, 86/280/ EC, 84/491/ EC, 83/513/ EC, 82/176/ EC, 80/68/ EC).
Law 1650/1986 regulates the sampling and ascertaining
the quality of water, depending on the type of the receiving waters that
require protection and the sensitivity of the local ecosystems. It also
proposes a group of measures and limits for the protection of waters from
building projects and activities, effluent and usable water standards, sampling
and measuring equipment etc (Article 10).
Map 6. Districts and Prefectures of Greece
Of the Greek legislation, the most
important ones regarding the administrative aspect of the resource are laws
1739/1987 and 1069/1980, which formulate the general framework of water
management and the framework of municipal water supply respectively.
Law 1069/1980 regulates the foundation
and operation of municipal water supply utilities. According to the law, any
municipality with a population over 10,000 people can proceed to create a
public water utility. The municipality’s responsibilities for water supply,
sewerage services, and refuse collection are transferred to the utility, which
also assumes the ownership of all networks and infrastructure related to those
duties, as well as the responsibility for the provision, financing and
monitoring the quality of services. It should be stressed that free flowing waters
are characterized by the Article 967 of the Civil Law as communal resources
that cannot be traded. Therefore, they are not part of the holdings of the
municipal utilities or authorities, but rather resources that can be exploited
for public, municipal or religious uses.
Law 1739/1987 regulates all procedures
and administrative instruments that will allow the management and protection of
water resources on the national and regional level. The law defines water
resources to include all surface and groundwaters, regardless of quality,
origin or potential use, the waters of natural springs, inland or marine, and
the waters of thermal and gaseous springs. This law functions as a framework
for the administration, rather than actual management, of water resources. It
defines the responsible authorities and instruments, and elaborates on the
responsibilities of existing structures (e.g. the ministries, the Power utility
etc). It also legislated the creation of new instruments for effective water
management in Greece.
The Department of Water and Natural
Resources is based in the Ministry of Development, which supervises also the
Interministerial Water Commission. The Interministerial Water Commission,
created by law 1739, acts as a consulting body for the formulation of the
national water policy. Concurrently, the country was divided into fourteen
water regions, and Regional Water Commissions and Regional services of Water
Resources Management were introduced as branches of the Ministry of
Development.
So far, law 1739/1987 has yet to be fully
implemented as most of these agencies are not fully functional. One of the
major disadvantages of the current institutional framework for the management
of water resources is the fragmentation and scattering of responsibility among
different agencies, which leads to overlaps in responsibility and difficulty in
coordinating the actions of the different authorities. Table 5 in the following
section summarizes the authorities responsible for the different aspects of
water management according to law 1739/1987.
1.4. Institutional framework
and constraints
Responsibility on water allocation and
management is distributed in the national, regional and local levels of
administration. The initial allocation of water is effected by the Ministry of
Development, which is responsible for water allocation to individual uses, as
well as for the management of water designated for industrial use. Once the
initial allocation has been made, the water for each use falls under the
responsibility of the respective ministry. Noteworthy are the
Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for the use of water in irrigation, the
Ministry of the Interior, responsible for the use of water for municipal water
supply with the exception of the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, and the
Ministry of the Environment, Urban Planning and Public Works (MEUPPW), responsible
for the use of water for the water supply of Athens and Thessaloniki and the
conservation of the quality of the environment (See Figure 1).
The most pressing issue is that
there are many government departments dealing with water problems, but their
activities are compartmentalized and not well coordinated. Added to this is a
water law system which is not responsive to modern issues of an industrial
society and widely scattered, thus permitting overlapping functions, multiple
advisory bodies and insufficiently decentralized management responsibilities
through regional organizations. A Master Plan has yet to be formulated, along
with the corresponding management principles for the 14 water regions. Legislation
also tends to be deficient in the case of pollution issues, where quality
standards for water bodies and/or effluent disposal have not been clearly
established. Furthermore, the sporadic consideration of water quality issues in
a coherent water policy and the absence of systematic, uniform and enforceable
pollution charges have compounded problems and have handicapped water resources
management efforts.
Figure 1. Water Governance in the National Level
On the regional level, the regional
authorities are responsible for the approval of planning and financing for
projects involving water supply and irrigation. Prefecture authorities are
responsible for the issuing of permits for abstraction and for the allocation
of water within each region/use. On the local/municipal level, the municipality
is responsible for the supply water and services to the people, or, for the
creation of public companies responsible for the provision of water and
sanitary services, (see table 5).
Table 5. Responsible Authorities in the Water Sector
|
Agency/Authority
|
Responsibilities
|
|
Ministry
of Agriculture
|
Use in
irrigation and animal husbandry
Undertaking and participation in water resources management research
programmes
|
|
Ministry
of the Interior
|
Supervising
Municipal water supply, except for Athens and Thessaloniki
Provision of water services in cases where municipalities are not able to
Undertaking and participation in water resources management research
programmes
|
|
Ministry
of the Environment
|
Protection
of water quality and quantity
Supervising water supply to Athens and Thessaloniki
Providing water services in cases where municipalities are unable to
Undertaking and participation in water resources management research
programmes
|
|
Ministry
of Development
|
Responsibility for the allocation of water to use sectors
Use of water in industry and energy production
Coordination and follow-up on research, exploitation and protection
activities
Provision of any uses and services not included in the responsibilities of
other agencies
Undertaking and participation in water resources management research
programmes
|
|
Ministry
of Transportation
|
Use of
water in transportation
|
|
Ministry
of Culture
|
Use of
water in sports
|
|
Ministry
of Foreign Affairs
|
International
water issues
|
|
Ministry
of Health and Welfare
|
Undertaking
and participation in water resources management research programmes
|
|
Regional
Authorities
|
Approval
of municipal decisions for the creation of Water Utilities, the extension of
the duties of Water Utilities, or the participation of other municipalities
in Water Utilities
|
|
Prefecture
Authorities
|
Issuing of
water use licenses
Provision of water services in cases where municipalities are not able to
|
|
Municipal
Authorities
|
Provision
of water services
Creation of Municipal Water Utilities
|
|
National
Tourism Organization
|
Use of
water in recreation and therapeutic spas
|
|
Public Power
Corporation,
National Institute of Geological Research,
National Meteorological Services,
National Center for Marine Research
|
Undertaking
and participation in water resources management research programmes
|
Map 7. The 44 hydrological basins of Greece
1.5. Management, Institutional
and policy options
Currently the
focus in Greece is on growth policies (see table 6) rather than on water
resources management and policies. Law 1739/1987 provides the basic framework
for water management, which is however not currently fully applied. The
management of resources is essentially effected on a regional level, after the
initial allocation to uses.
Table 6. The development priorities
|
Area
type
|
Development
Priorities
|
|
Urban
|
Meeting the needs of maintaining infrastructure (transport,
water supply and sewerage, refuse disposal areas)
|
|
Agricultural
|
Promoting less intensive agriculture practices. Reuse and
conservation.
|
|
Tourist destinations
|
Improving the tourist quality
to higher income groups
Supporting the workforce
|
As the local authorities are responsible
for water use, with the exception of protected water bodies and areas, the management
of water resources is often found to be poor and disorganized. Maintenance of infrastructure in
the more remote areas tends to be poor, while long term contingency planning is
almost non-existent. Financial constraints are the main reason behind the poor
management and lack of planning (see table 7). Responses to water shortages
vary depending on the area and the conditions.
Overall they tend to be short-term
responses, driven by crises that require the confrontation of the acute shortages. In cases of water
shortage, supply augmentation management options are the
most often used. Demand
reduction management principles have been used in the past, particularly in the
Athens Metropolitan Area in the early 1990’s, where increased water prices were
successfully used to compensate for the prolonged drought that had led to severe
water shortages. The limited demand reduction management responses applied
are not widely used, as the price of
water tends to play a pivotal role in political processes; the growth of the greater capital area has
overall been
supported by a series of reservoirs and abstractions from the western parts of
the country.
Generally, the means used to confront
water shortages have depended mainly on the cost of the method. Hence, the
first response to water shortages invariably involves new drilling of the
aquifers. Groundwater is extensively used both for domestic and irrigation
water supply throughout the country, and particularly in the
Aegean
Islands.
In cases where the quality or quantity of
groundwater does not meet the required standards, an alternative way of
ensuring water supply is importing water from neighboring, richer
in water resources areas
(water hauling by ships, underwater pipes etc). For permanent water shortage
other structural solutions are preferred. Dams and reservoirs are used where
there are funds available, and locations suitable, for their construction;
alternatively, desalination plants are also used in cases of more limited funds
or lack of suitable locations.
Table 7. Constraints facing the water sector
|
Category
|
Constraints
|
|
Natural
|
Uneven water resource distribution
Uneven precipitation distribution, spatially and temporally
Dependence on transboundary waters
|
|
Human
|
Uneven population distribution
Tourist influx is uneven in space and time
Excessive water consumption for irrigation
Demand peaks in the dry season
Groundwater is contaminated by pollutants
Overexploitation of underground aquifers causes salinization and irreversible
damage
Lack of environmental awareness
|
|
Technical
|
Local authorities lack the technology, know how and specialised
personnel needed for long term management and for the construction and particularly
maintenance of water infrastructure
Old distribution networks with high losses
Some areas very deficient in resources require new technologies (e.g. the
islands) or the transfer of water from remote areas (e.g. Athens)
Lack of proper irrigation techniques that would save water
Illegal connections to the networks
|
|
Financial
|
Deficient allocation of funds to the remote regions, exacerbated by
the multitude of responsible authorities
Water pricing is politically influenced and not based on water cost, leading
to inadequate finances for the funding of further infrastructure
|
|
Administrative
and institutional
|
Lack of well defined, long-term water policy
Focus on short-term development policies
Lack of coordination among responsible authorities
Inadequate setup of water authorities with overlapping responsibilities
Distribution of responsibility to local authorities with limited resources
Management units are defined politically rather than basin-wide
Lack of reliable data on supply and demand, particularly for irrigation
Lack of public awareness on water issues, and of public participation in
decision making
|
There is great need for new approaches to
water management that will serve to mitigate at least some of the above problem
issues and constraints, and promote sustainable use of the available resources
while aiding to achieve the aims of development policies. It may also be
pointed out that the traditional spatial environmental view has been exploded
and project boundaries - and their impacts and consequences - are becoming much
more diffuse. A strategic approach is needed that should include drastic
measures of ecological rehabilitation, innovative institutional mechanisms, and
a balance between autonomy and cooperation. Such integrated approaches should
incorporate environmental monitoring and information by expanding the factual
basis of holistic urban/industrial water management models. In addition, they
should also be accompanied by a framework for negotiations that stresses the
importance of comprehensive institutional formats and the clarity in local and
national decision making processes.
Table 8. Water Resources Planning Matrix
|
Activity
|
Municipal Authority/ Water Utility
|
Regional Authorities
|
Prefecture Authorities
|
Ministry of Development
|
Ministry of Environment
|
Ministry of Agriculture
|
Ministry of Finance
|
|
Surface water
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Storage
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
Recharge
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Diversion
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Quality monitoring
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Assessment
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Ground water
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Storage
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Recharge
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Quality monitoring
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Assessment
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Well/drill permits
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
|
Irrigation network
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rehabilitation
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
Modernization
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
Reuse
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drainage water
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Wastewater
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Desalination
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
Introduction of technology
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Efficient water utilization
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Industrial
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Irrigation
|
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
Legislation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Regulation and codes
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Standards
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Policy setting
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Water allocation
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Project financing
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
Project design
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Project Implementation
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
Operation and maintenance
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pricing
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enforcement
|
X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Water
Data records
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
1.6. Conclusions
The main constraints and problem issues
are the following:
v
Dependence
on transboundary waters flowing from non-EU regions. Waters flowing from non-EU
regions are very difficult to regulate, particularly in matters of quality; the
lack of infrastructure in the neighboring countries results in pollution
downstream into Greek waters.
v Strong
dependence on irrigation. Even with the best management techniques and
strategies, agriculture will remain the major user of water in the country, due
to the hot and dry climate.
v
Pronounced
seasonality of demand, which makes the provision of water services harder, as
it is not always possible to ensure adequate supply.
§
The
demand that is due to tourism peaks in the summer when a major influx of
tourists is observed.
§
The
demand for agriculture peaks in the dry hot season, the same time as the domestic
demand peaks due to tourism.
v
Uneven
distribution of resources. Both precipitation and surface water resources are
concentrated in the western and northern parts of the country which are self-sufficient,
while the eastern and southern parts of the country face water shortages.
v
Uneven
distribution of population. Overall, the population is concentrated in the eastern
coastal areas which tend to be under stress. Furthermore, the concentration of
almost half the Greek population in Athens, in the poorest water region of the
country, and the seasonal influx of visitors to the Greek islands, exacerbate
the water shortage problems.
v Overexploitation
and salinization of aquifers, a common problem in the areas dependent
on groundwater and particularly in coastal areas.
v Water
quality deterioration due to human activities.
v Focus
on short-term developmental policies rather on the actual water resource
management.
v
Lack
of inter-ministerial coordination and overlaps in areas of authority. Instead of
an organized, coordinated approach to water resources management, measures
taken are only partial and generally ineffective.
v Absence
of master plans or national guidelines for comprehensive planning and
management in the past, despite recent efforts for responding to that problem.
v Lack
of organized, collective efforts, which are required to respond to the
demanding provisions of the Water Framework Directive and other EU legislation
and operational guidelines.
2. Selection of Representative Regions
Map
8 illustrates the aridity indices
in the different Hydrological basins in Greece. Three
particular regions emerge as the most arid:
v
Attica,
v
Thessaly,
and
v
The
Aegean islands and the southern part of Crete.
Map
8. Aridity Index in
Greek Hydrological basins
Map 9 shows the regions selected
for further study. The
selection of these regions was made based on the water deficiency and
aridity of the area, as mentioned above, but also on its social and economic
characteristics. Each one of these three regions suffers water deficits for a
different reason, which makes them good candidates for study:
1. Attica, the area that hosts
over half of the country’s population in the Capital city and the surrounding
areas, suffers water deficits because of the permanent population size, which
is too big for the available local water resources to cover. Water for the
supply of the capital city originates mostly in other Water Regions, as the
underground aquifers of Attica – not adequate since ancient times – are overall polluted and
eutrophic. The water deficit in this case is permanent and caused by increased
domestic demand.
2.
The Thessaly plains are intensively cultivated, requiring large amounts of
irrigation water. As has already been mentioned, large amounts of water are
used for irrigation in Thessaly that could be drastically reduced by the introduction of more
efficient irrigation networks and a more organized approach to the selection of
crops. The water deficit in this case is seasonal, and caused by demand for
irrigation.
3.
The Cyclades islands in the summer months attract large numbers of tourists, which steeply
increase the water demand to the point that it cannot be covered by the
existing infrastructure and water resources. During the summer months, water
demand reaches its peak both for irrigation, and for domestic supply; in some
islands the summer peak may reach up to thirty times the permanent population,
while water resources are very limited. The water deficit in this case is
seasonal, and caused by an influx of tourist population, while there are severe
conflicts with use of water for irrigation purposes.
Map 9. The Candidate Regions selected
These three regions will be analyzed in
the following section as to their respective sets of circumstances, affecting
water resources and management.
Continue to
the Range of Circumstances in Attica