Water of Thessaloniki looking at the year 2030

An in-depth discussion on the sustainable development of Thessaloniki was yesterday’s event “Development Projects and Actions for Thessaloniki 2030”, co-organized by EYATH SA, TEE/TKM and TEF-Helexpo.

At the event, EYATH was represented by its president, Agis Papadopoulos, who presented the company’s strategic plan for securing the city’s water supply, a key element of sustainability and absolutely connected to the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN for 2030.

Mr. Papadopoulos referred to the development that has taken place over the last 30 years – through a series of projects – in the quality of the water of the Thermaikos gulf, but also in the availability of the water resource, given that we have come to have 250,000 square meters  of water available daily or 160 liters of water per capita, consumption close to the European average. “There is the gulf of Thermaikos that, in the plan for the regeneration of the coastal front, it is foreseen to be that clean that people could take a bath”, he said characteristically.

As the city grows and the local water resources are finite and even exhausted, ensuring the water supply of Thessaloniki means “to transport from further and further, more and more water”, said the president of EYATH referring to Western Macedonia and Aravissos, which are remote water supply sources of the Town Planner. Networks outside the city, urban networks, reservoirs, maintenance and continuous controls for water quality are needed, he pointed out and added that a water management and distribution plan is underway with projects of the order of 125 million euros. These, as he said, include optimization of the existing system and provision for expansion to new areas, expansion of the Thessaloniki Water Treatment Facility, construction of new storage tanks, while at the same time the Wastewater Treatment Facility is upgraded with energy interventions and the use of effluents in irrigation and the water supply/drainage SCADA is completed. In the field of research and innovation, EYATH participates in a series of research projects, in the network of 100 resilient cities, while it is “running” a competition for 100 thousand “smart” water meters, which will now allow integrated management of the network. “Security of supply, financial sustainability and circular economy are three key words, part of the essence of the company’s strategic vision”, which, as Mr. Papadopoulos said, aims to reduce our carbon footprint by 50% and water footprint by 30% by 2030.

At the same panel participated AUTH professors P. Papaioannou on traffic, N. Mousiopoulos on the circular economy and D. Bikas on upgrading the city’s building potential. As the coordinator of the panel, Professor N. Theodosiou, said, “we do not see 2030 as an end, but as a reference point in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a turning point to see how we will move into the future in a targeted, systematic and inclusive way”.