The EYDAP public water company, has announced an ambitious project to alleviate water scarcity in Attica by drawing water through tunnels from two rivers in Evrytania, central Greece, to fill the artificial lake Evinos.
This project aims to be operational within three to four years, eliminating the risk of a severe water crisis in the region.
In the immediate term, EYDAP plans to supplement water supplies by drilling boreholes in the Viotian Kifissos basin and Mavrosouvalas.
Additionally, the artificial lake Kremasta will be integrated into the system, and a desalination plant will be established in the capital.
The Environment Ministry and EYDAP presented the details of these plans to address water scarcity in Attica and the rest of Greece. According to Environment Minister Theodoros Skylakakis and EYDAP CEO Harry Sachinis, Attica currently faces a water deficit of 225 million cubic meters. To reduce this deficit by 75 million cubic meters, EYDAP has activated drilling in Mavrosouvalas, Oropos, pumped water from Lake Yliki, and plans to expand drilling in the middle of the Viotian Kifissos basin. However, under the current drought conditions, Attica has water reserves for only four more years.
The most suitable solution for significantly reinforcing Attica's water reserves is to supply the Evinos reservoir from new water sources in Western Greece. As outlined by Skylakakis, the central solution involves boosting the Evinos reservoir from Lake Kremasta, which has five times more storage capacity than all of EYDAP's reservoirs combined.
Mr. Sachinis explained that the project will be carried out in two phases. Initially, a public project will be developed to connect two rivers in the region with the Evinos reservoir. The first river, Krikellopotamos, will require a tunnel spanning approximately 12 kilometres, while the second river, Karpenisiotis, will need a tunnel of 7 kilometres. The estimated cost of this project is 450 million euros.
In the second phase, a third tunnel, stretching around 11 kilometres, will be constructed as a standalone project to reach Lake Kremasta. The water will flow through this tunnel to the lake, where a smaller reservoir is planned to be built. Sachinis noted that the water will need to be pumped from Kremasta due to the altitude difference. This facility can potentially be used as a pumped storage project for power generation, potentially making it self-financing. The estimated cost of this project is 250 million euros.