The limits of infrastructure on popular Greek islands, such as Patmos, and the degradation of the natural environment are the focus of a taz report titled: “Environmental protection in Greece: Swimming in garbage and brown mud”. The reason is the sewage from problems in the biological treatment system on Patmos, which ends up in the sea. “The cause is the damaged sewage treatment plant and a blocked pipeline that should lead the sewage to the seabed”.
As the report observes, “in many parts of the island, brown mud emerged from the water supply system, instead of drinking water”. The article refers to the history of the case: the initial refusal of Mayor Nikitas Tsampalakis, the intervention of the Prosecutor’s Office, the dispatch of a technical team from EYDAP to the island. According to taz, “the biological treatment plant was one of many, built in the mid-2010s with the aim of replacing the problematic pre-existing system of the 1980s. The project, which was financed by European funds, was implemented with a significant delay in 2018”. The report also refers to the mayor’s eventual admission that “nothing was working properly”.
Elsewhere it observes that “Patmos is no exception. On the Cycladic island of Mykonos, which has over 10,000 residents in winter but is flooded with tourists in summer, a 33-year-old pipeline recently burst on Platis Gialos beach in front of the astonished eyes of tourists. For holidaymakers, this meant: swimming in filth.”
In closing, it notes that “it is not just the sewage issue that is pushing the country to its limits. Infrastructure in Greece is suffering under the weight of mass tourism – be it power outages, problems at ports and airports, traffic jams.” The report adds that “despite the persistent heat, extreme drought and devastating fires, the Greek tourism sector is once again on track for a record year.”
Source: DW
