Roxani Kamperou has introduced a new summer routine at her vacation home on the Cycladic island of Sifnos. Upon arrival, she grabs metal tools, lifts the cover of her cistern and checks the water levels. “I think we will be OK for this weekend,” she reassures her guests.
Water shortages caused Sifnos to join 14 Greek municipalities in declaring a state of emergency in June. The island faced days without water supply in some areas while others had strict rationing, providing water only at specific hours. Some municipalities rented desalination units to meet the summer demand, while also relying on water tanker ships at high cost.
In a year that has been the hottest on record globally as a result of climate change combined with natural phenomena, Greece has experienced its warmest winter, followed by one of its hottest summers.
In June and July, Athens experienced its hottest months on record as temperatures consistently exceeded 40C in the daytime and reached 30C at night. Rainfall was also significantly lower than the historical norm.
The problem of water scarcity has extended beyond Greece, as Europe takes its place in modern human history as the world’s fastest-warming continent.
Thousands of residents of the Sicilian city of Agrigento took to the streets with “we want water” signs in a protest earlier this month, after enduring months of shortages, and demanded more access to water.
Water rationing in Sicily was put in place in March, affecting 93 municipalities and 850,000 people. A naval ship was pressed into service to supply water to drought-stricken coastal towns and €20mn was allocated to fix its leaky infrastructure. Authorities also plan to spend €90mn reviving three old desalination plants.
While the most recent violent storms affecting the island brought rainfall to some areas, it was irregular and not enough to resolve the long-term crisis.
“What we have been warning about for years — the threat of desertification — is now becoming a reality,” said Chrysi Laspidou, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Thessaly. “But we, as scientists, are surprised by the speed at which these changes are occurring.”
As in many parts of the Mediterranean, a record number of tourists in Greece and a construction boom to accommodate the seasonal visitors has worsened the pressure on supplies.
Sifnos, part of the western Cyclades, one of Greece’s driest areas, has a permanent population of about 2,600 but visitor numbers rose to more than 135,000 in 2023 — nearly double the number of a decade ago. The influx has strained its limited infrastructure, but a lack of planning controls is also blamed.
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“Overtourism by itself is not the problem,” said Harry Sachinis, chief executive of Eydap, the Athens water and wastewater services company. “An island has very high water and sewage needs for three months and minimal needs for the rest of the year. What do you build, how do you build it, at what cost, and who is going to pay for it?”
Construction involving large plots being developed into villas with pools and gardens and multiple bathrooms has ignored the natural water constraints of the islands. Traditional architecture was modest, with small gardens of local flora which did not require watering. Most of the residents’ needs were met by the rainwater collected in their own cisterns, and wells were drawn for drinking water.
Pavlos Lazos, a local Sifnos photographer, published a book of his work last year about the island’s water scarcity. He recalls walking with his grandfather to fill bottles with water from wells, and having timed showers. “Today, much has changed, but not the need for efficient water management,” he said.
In the absence of a centralised plan, mayors of some small Cycladic islands are acting alone. Sifnos’ mayor Maria Nadali described her anxiety while monitoring the island’s water tanks and consumption in real time in June. “By looking at the levels of water consumption in June, we realised that if we continued at that rate, we wouldn’t have enough until October.”
Declaring a state of emergency, she said, raised awareness among visitors and residents, as well as provided a basis for rationing. Tourists typically use two to three times more water per head than locals, for more frequent washing of sheets and towels, showers and filling pools. “We needed to ensure everyone was aware of the water scarcity,” Nadali said.
In a sign of the times, desalination plants are an increasing presence on many Greek islands. There are now 57 desalination units operating on the Aegean Islands alone, twice as many as a decade ago. Islands such as Syros are entirely dependent on it, while others, such Sifnos, rely on it heavily.
However, desalination brings other problems, including high energy consumption and environmental concerns related to waste disposal. Despite the abundant solar and wind electricity potential of the islands, the majority of the units remain powered by fossil fuels.
“You have the sea and plenty of water, but making it potable requires massive energy,” said Laspidou, the civil engineering professor. “If the energy comes from fossil fuels, you end up with large emissions [contributing to global warming].”
“Desalination also produces significant amounts of brine, which harms marine ecosystems,” she added. “I would suggest desalination only if it’s the last resort.”
The cost of desalinated water, including energy and distribution, often exceeds the price charged to consumers, resulting in a shortfall to the municipality of anywhere between 40 and 70 per cent. This financial gap forces the Hellenic Association of Municipal Water and Sewerage Utilities to subsidise the service, leading to a vicious cycle of greater deficits, further impeding infrastructure upgrades.
The chronic lack of centralised water management planning means that maintenance and investment have been haphazard, with each municipality doing whatever it thought best.
The Greek national regulator is preparing its first analytical map of water resources this year to manage and plan for future needs. This includes cataloguing desalination plants, water drilling sites, and necessary staffing.
“We need to decide our strategy,” said Dimitris Psichogios, vice-chair of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Waste and Water. “Do we want more desalination plants, or do we need to merge facilities on the islands? These are political decisions that need to be made.”
As tourist arrivals continue to increase across southern Europe, its governments face an urgent need to develop a water management strategy to preserve precious resources and support their economies.
Recently, Nadali lifted Sifnos out of emergency status. Water levels were less perilous as warnings were heeded. “The situation is under control at the moment, and we hope to continue this way, but we are in constant agony.”
Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome
Graphics by Samira Chowdhury and Ian Bott
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