Oinofyta promised clean water
Authorities made public yesterday a four-step plan aimed at helping resolve Oinofyta’s water problems, which involves building a new network to draw drinking water from cleaner rivers. According to regional authorities, the Environment and Interior ministries have agreed with the Athens and Piraeus Water Company (EYDAP) and local municipalities to start work on a new pipeline that will draw water from the Mornos reservoir rather than the heavily polluted Asopos River. Drinking water in the area of Oinofyta, north of Attica, is currently being drawn from the Asopos, which was recently found to be heavily contaminated. Data from the General Chemical State Laboratory have shown higher-than-expected levels of carcinogenic depleted chromium in water samples taken from the river, part of which is adjoined by one of the country’s largest industrial districts. Authorities also agreed to build a treatment plant that will filter water supplied from an EYDAP well. It was not clear who would foot the bill for the plant after talks on its financing reached an impasse last week. «This does not mean that that we will stop here. It is necessary to implement strict checks on industrial plants and go ahead with precautionary checks on residents to determine whether there has been any impact from being exposed to the depleted chromium,» Oinofyta Deputy Mayor Michalis Gialouris told Kathimerini. Gialouris added that the municipality is considering taking legal action against those responsible for polluting the Asopos. Authorities gave a sketchy time frame for the action plan yesterday, raising concerns over when it will be delivered after previous moves to improve the area’s water quality have yet to be implemented.
