With the approach of the new tourist season, there is some anxiety in the Municipality of Platanias about the possibility of meeting the increased water demand which will be generated by many thousands of visitors. The local water company DEYAVA (the name means Public Enterprise for Water Supply and Sewerage of the Northern Axis) has had partial success in finding new supplies, with two out of four new boreholes producing results. However, as a report in Haniotika Nea makes clear, this is far from fulfilling the predicted demand for the summer.

The Municipality of Platanias has submitted an application to be included once more among those municipalities facing severe water shortage issues, so as to justify funding from the Ministry to take measures to counter the problem. “By the end of January we were in a drought situation and now we have submitted a request to be included once more. We have already received a grant of €150,000 to drill new boreholes,” the head of DEYAVA Eftychis Mavrogenis said.

The boreholes in question are as follows:
— Koleni: There was a successful drilling to replace an older borehole which had operational problems and the water from it will come on stream his year.
— Neriana: There has also been a successful drilling at Neriana and it is awaiting the installation of the technical equipment in order to cover a large part of the northern area of Voukolies, Tavronitis and Polemarchi.
— Voukolies: The borehole in question which was planned to cover the southern side of Voukolies did not produce a result.
— Palia Roumata: This drilling was also unsuccessful.
— Deres: The next drilling is planned for Deres.

“We are also planning other boreholes throughout the nomos of Chania, but there is only one company carrying out the work and if a piece of machinery is damaged we may have to wait a month before it gets started again,” the head of DEYAVA stressed, adding: “Wherever underground water is suspected according to the indications of scientists who know about these matters, we will make boreholes for our network. We are in the process of developing new areas of intervention and we have made provision in our budget so that even if the money we have been granted is not sufficient – and it won’t be sufficient – we will be able to ensure the expenditure from our own funds.”

The Crete Development Organisation and recycled water
Especially for the Voukolies area, where a lot of avocados have been planted, there is has been a severe problem with water for irrigation over the past few years, Mr Mavrogenis said: “Irrigation for the Municipal Unit of Voukolies is provided solely by the Crete Development Organisation (OAK). We are under pressure from our citizens to give them water. We are prepared to do it but an agreement is needed with the OAK as to how our own pipelines can be used in a way which is legal.”

Regarding the use of water which comes from the tertiary treatment of waste water from the Northern Axis, which has been developed during the past few years, Mr Mavrogenis said: “After the completion of the extension works to the treatment plant and the supplementary works planned, we will have water which can be used for irrigation. What have not been provided for are the networks which will transfer this water, which cannot be run together with the other sources of water but will need to have its own independent network with separate valves and hydrants etc. Funding will need to be found for those networks.”
(Haniotika Nea, 31/01/26)