EYATH about flood protection

EYATH SA posted a handbook on better flood protection in Thessaloniki and about protecting the citizens’ property, while clarifying the cloudy landscape of responsibilities in the major issue of flood protection.

Addressing the municipalities of the Town Planning District, the Region of Central Macedonia, as well as the AUTH, OLTH, Egnatia Odos and TIF – Helexpo, and on the occasion of the start of the autumn season, EYATH’s main responsibility is the operation and maintenance of Thessaloniki’s water network (the network that drains rainwater and sewage together), as well as the associated wells. At the same time, since March last year for two years EYATH has signed a contract with the District for the cleaning and maintenance of the rainwater network in the Town Planning Complex, as it has the necessary know-how and expertise in this area (rainwater network and its cleaning is the responsibility of the body that maintains the road network on which it is located – the ΠΚΜ in this case, with which the relevant contract was signed).

At the same time, EYATH calls for the cooperation of the municipalities in particular and draws their attention to the following issues:

– The asphalt pavement elements of the company network (coverings, grates, cleansers, etc.) should not be asphalted during asphalting, in order to allow the crews to access and maintain them,

– Leaves and rubbish on roads and sidewalks should be cleaned in a timely manner so as not to block grates and prevent water from entering the drainage network. Road cleaning must also include the surface of the wells to make the wells operational,

– In case of architectural interventions on the roads, the necessary inclinations to the wells must be observed and the rainwater should not be prevented by these interventions,

– Where refurbishment, pavement or rainwater works have been carried out, the responsibility for cleaning lies with the bodies that have implemented them and not with EYATH. Such areas are Aristotelous Square, Ag. Sofias St. – Ag. Theodoras St. – G. Stavrou St., Navarinou Square, Melenikou St., Rotonta, Ladadika, AUTH, TIF and more.

– Where there are open air markets but also in the historic center, special care should be taken to ensure that food residues or waste do not clog the wells.

Beyond the responsibility of the EHATH, but of major importance for the flood protection of Thessaloniki, is the systematic cleaning of the city’s open streams, the large closed pipelines that are a continuation of the open streams, the cleaning of major roads (Agricultural School Avenue, inner – outer. etc., as well as entire municipalities not included in the programmatic contract with the FPM for rainwater (Thermaikos, Oreokastro, Pefka, Sindos, Filiro, Thermi municipality). It is also obvious that all areas where sewage services are not provided or they are beyond the company’s responsibility area, they are beyond the competence of EHATH.

Finally, it should be noted that the existing rainwater networks, especially the mantle, have not been designed for very intense and long-lasting rainfall, so we see flooded roads and stagnant waters in low-lying areas. The network is overloaded, it cannot immediately lift the rain load, but the fact that after the end of the rainfall, the waters are removed, confirms the functionality and systematic maintenance of the network by EHATH.

On the occasion of today’s World Day Against Climate Change, EHATH points out that it is absolutely essential that all stakeholders work together to protect the city and citizens’ property from severe flooding. The specialized staff of the company remains at the disposal of all competent services for the promotion of the necessary flood protection works and the effective flood protection of our Town Planning Group.