River ecosystem breaking down
The unrestricted use of fertilizers and pesticides has irreparably damaged the Pineios River and Thessaly’s entire water table. According to measurements by Thessaloniki University’s Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, farming is responsible for 30 percent of all water pollution. Concentrations of nitrates, ammonia and phosphates in rivers and lakes often make the survival of aquatic organisms impossible and are killing the biotopes around them. The river’s ecosystem is breaking down, dozens of fish and bird species are disappearing, as is a large section of the flora on the bed of the river.
