Greece has drawn up a plan to manage its dwindling water resources in a bid to ensure that no area or island in the country is left without access to water in the future.

Public Works and Environment Minister Giorgos Souflias yesterday presented the plan, which contains several controversial elements that include the insistence on the diversion of the Acheloos River and the construction of at least 20 hydroelectric dams.

The plan to divert the Acheloos from western Greece to Thessaly in central Greece to provide water for farmers has already been blocked five times by the Council of State and is opposed by residents in the west of the country. But Souflias says that Greece will need to learn to live with these kinds of projects.

“We have to understand that diversions of water in Greece are unavoidable because in some areas water is readily available and in others there is a large demand for it,” said the minister.

The water management plan is based on research done by the National Technical University of Athens, which recorded the state of Greece’s water resources.