Water requirements for 2004 Olympics
The Athens Water Supply and Sewage Company (EYDAP)’s commitments for the Olympic Games consist of filling the rowing center at Schinias, irrigating the coastal zone, providing water and installing sewerage works at the Olympic Village and in the port of Piraeus (where 10 cruise ships are to dock in August 2004 to provide accommodation for 20,000 guests), several kilometers of pipelines, and the construction of waste processing plants. EYDAP had already scheduled most of these projects by 2009, but they are being speeded up for the Olympics. Its officials claim that the technical solutions have been found and that the deadlines are not prohibitive. Flood protection works Although EYDAP seems confident, the situation with the Public Works Ministry’s flood protection program is giving rise to considerable concern, particularly with regard to the equestrian center and shooting range in Markopoulo, and at Nea Liosia, where the wrestling and judo competitions will be held. EYDAP says there will be enough water; the worst-case scenario is a total daily consumption of 1.8 million cubic meters. It is not so much the Olympic installations that will face problems but the coastal zone, where a vast number of trees are to be planted, as well as the greenery slated for the Olympic Village and the equestrian center, to be watered by wells. Tree-planting along the southern coast is likely to require 2,000 cubic meters of water every day, mainly from recycled waste water, processed at a plant near the old airport on the route of the pipeline bringing waste from Vouliagmeni to Psyttaleia. EYDAP has already begun supplying water to the Olympic Village through two pipelines – an extension of the Varibombi line and a new pipeline from the Menidi refinery. Work has also begun at the rowing center with the construction of a pipeline from the Marathon dam.
