EYATH at Water Summit 2025

EYATH gave a double “presence” on issues of “smart” infrastructure and challenges in the water supply sector in Greece at the “Greek Water Summit 2025” conference, last Friday in Athens. The company was represented by Maria Petala, member of the Board of Directors of EYATH, and Alexandros Mendes, director of Strategic Planning, Projects & Development of the company.

Ms. Petala, in the panel “Rationalization of the water market structure in Greece: reforms and challenges”, referred in detail to the extroverted nature of EYATH, which collaborates with companies abroad (memorandum of cooperation with a Romanian water supply and sewage company for the exchange of know-how and synergies in research and development programs, contacts with North Macedonia, cooperation with the Larnaca Sewerage Council of Cyprus and with a Cypriot bank), but also domestically (municipality of Chios, South Aegean Region for monitoring the quality and level of the water of the Gadoura dam reservoir, in Rhodes, using satellite remote sensing tools). “We have a culture of collaboration, but we are not open to unconditional collaborations,” clarified Ms. Petala, referring to the changes underway in the country’s water map.

In relation to Thessaloniki’s water supply needs, she noted that “there is no pressure on water in Thessaloniki, we have conducted hydrological studies, we have examined the data, we have worked with many scenarios of extreme phenomena and we have concluded that for the next five years, that is, until 2030, there is no pressure on the water resources and water supply of Thessaloniki, without this of course meaning that we are complacent,” and then mentioned the actions of EYATH to raise awareness among the public and students through educational programs at the Water Supply Museum and in school classrooms.

The company’s Director of Strategic Planning, Projects & Development, Alexandros Mendes, referred to the sustainable – resilient management of water resources through “smart” infrastructures, systems and ultimately… “smart” water. Technologies such as GIS, digital twins, remote management and control systems (SCADA) or remote sensing via satellite are the cornerstone for meeting the needs of the future in a resilient environment, explained Mr. Mendes.

“The information produced and transferred by the “smart network” does not exclusively concern the pricing of consumed water, but is also used in the technical and operational optimization of water supply networks,” Mr. Mendes clarified, so the cost of investing in “smart” water meters is quickly offset by the benefit of information and data management, as he explained. “Given the outdated way most water systems in the country operate and their constantly slowing efficiency, the implementation of “smart networks” is an imperative and a vehicle for operational transformation, in order to create corporate surplus values”, noted Mr. Mendes, to finally share the company’s vision of reaching the point of successfully decoding all of the raw data of its networks’ operation, even modeling the quality of the water produced.

The conference was organized by ethosEVENTS in collaboration with the financial and business portal banks.com.gr and the financial and investment magazine CHRIMA, with the aim of synthesizing expert opinions, the priorities of those in power, and the industry’s proposals for shaping the future of the water sector.