Farmers’ taps will tighten
Preventing farmers from watering crops in the middle of the day and building extra channels to trap rainwater are among the measures decided by officials in northern Greece yesterday as precautionary steps against possible drought conditions this summer. Ministry officials and municipal and regional representatives prepared an action plan after water levels failed to rise during the winter. «Our goal is to prevent problems arising and take the necessary measures. In cooperation with ministries, we will push ahead with a number of projects,» said Macedonia-Thrace Minister Giorgos Kalatzis. It was not clear how watering hours may be restricted. According to data presented yesterday, underground water levels in parts of Macedonia and Thrace have fallen by as much as 6 meters, resulting in a decline in water volume of up to 80 percent. The Polyfyto lake in Kozani is also showing signs of drying up. Its water volume is currently about 100 million cubic meters below the 485 million cubic meters it had this time last year.
