The need to take measures to protect water in Greece was underlined during the Delphi Economic Forum IX.
“Greece the only European country that increases water consumption”
“Greece is the only European country that increases its water consumption from 2013 onwards,” Tasos Iosifidis Partner, Head of Strategy & Transactions, EY, (CESA) South Cluster EY, said at the Delphi Economic Forum.
He added that our country is 4th in total water consumption when in terms of population it is in 9th place, a quantity corresponding to 1,000 cubic meters per inhabitant.
According to data he presented, Greek agriculture consumes 82%-83% of the water used compared to 39%-40% in the EU. 64% comes from underground water, compared to 23% in Spain, and the remaining 77% comes from surface water. He underlined that the “climate crisis is here and will remain here and that is why we need to think of solutions to take measures to deal with the destruction of the water table.”
“The second cheapest water in the world”
Greece has the second cheapest water in the world, the CEO of the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP), Haris Sahinis, stated.
According to a study by Yale University, Greece is among the countries in the world with the best quality of water.
He stated that severe phenomena of desertification and drought have been observed which, as he emphasized, create the need for prevention with projects such as the replacement of networks, smart meters and new wastewater treatment centers, which are part of EYDAP’s plan for projects worth two billion euros.
For the last 18 years, Coca-Cola has been implementing a water strategy in our country, as part of the company’s global policy, the general manager of Greece, Cyprus & Malta, Coca-Cola, Stavros Mourelatos, said.
In this context, a total of 81 projects have been carried out in our country, with Mourelatos emphasizing that three of them have only been carried out in the last nine months.
