Asopos River to be cleaned up after years of delays
Authorities are to proceed with delayed plans to combat pollution in the Asopos River in central Greece, which provides households and farms in Viotia with water.
The Environment Ministry, the Athens Water and Sewage Company (EYDAP) and the Municipality of Tanagra have agreed to invest around 40 million euros in a series of actions that will improve the area’s water quality.
This includes creating a new irrigation system for the farming plains of Viotia and transporting industrial waste to Metamorphosi.
In June, the Council of Europe condemned Greece for not dealing with the high pollution levels in the Asopos, which has been found to contain high levels of carcinogenic hexavelant chromium.
Residents have been campaigning for a number of years to get the river cleaned up after tests showed a much higher incidence of cancer in the area than elsewhere.
