The country’s water reserves are so low that it will take at least 10 years of proper water management for levels to be restored satisfactorily, experts say, noting that current reserves are adequate for the next three years.
Scientists from the Hellenic Committee of Hydrogeology and other experts said it was imperative that 200,000 legal and illegal drill holes around the country be checked as soon as possible.
Speaking ahead of an international conference on hydrology due to take place in Athens early next month, scientists said poor water management is the main factor contributing to low water levels, followed by the absence, and quality, of inspections on boreholes.
“We are going to find ourselves in a state of permanent drought, which is only going to get worse,” said Giorgos Stournaras, professor of hydrogeology at Athens University.
Giorgos Migiros, a professor of hydrology at the same university, has a similarly grim outlook. “We need to manage our water correctly for 10 years if we are to return to safe levels,” he said.
All scientists attending yesterday’s press conference agreed that the first step has to be checks on the country’s plentiful water bores. “We are worried by the excessive amounts of water being pumped from underground sources,” said Hara Alexiadou, the president of the Hellenic Association of Consulting Geologists. “There are an estimated 200,000 water bores in the country, many of which descend 400 or 600 meters underground.”
Experts said the issuing of licenses for the operation of water bores should be more strictly regulated. The absence of comprehensive geological studies is another problem. This has led to some opportunistic firms selling bogus studies, experts warned.