A solution in sight for the Valsamiotis dam

The approvals for the Environmental Impact Study for the repair works to the Valsamiotis dam at Vatolakkos are now in the final stages, according to a report in Haniotika Nea. In addition to repairing the leaks which have prevented the dam from entering use since its completion in 2014, the works will include the construction of a pipeline which will carry water to the pumping station at Patelari and from there to the plain of Chania and Platanias.

The Crete Development Organisation has told the paper that the study, which was completed in May 2026, is at present awaiting approvals from the Forestry Service for the sections which concern it and from the Culture Ministry for archaeological sites. It is estimated that the approvals will have been secured by the end of 2026 and the process of securing funding can then proceed.

The original construction of the dam
Constructed between 2005 and 2014 with EU money, the dam near the village of Vatolakkos, 2.5 km south west of Alikianos, was designed to have a capacity of 6 million cu m. However, problems arose during the construction and the original budget of €18.5 million was exceeded, with final expenditure ballooning to a total of €44.6 million. Despite the extra expenditure, it was discovered after its inauguration in 2014 that the dam had substantial leaks, which resulted amongst other things in water rising in the cellars of houses in Vatolakkos. As a consequence the dam was never filled to more than a fraction of its designed capacity.

A Google Maps satellite image of the area around Vatolakkos with the reservoir and dam in the middle.
Siting of the Valsamiotis dam near Vatolakkos: the dam appears as a white line in the middle of the picture. Despite large sums of EU money spent on its construction, the dam leaks and has never operated at full capacity. Image: Google Maps.

Since then the difficulty of finding a solution to the leaks, as well as the major cost of repairs, compounded by bureaucratic delays, has led to a 10-year gap in finalising a project which would be of major benefit to agricultural producers in the whole northern coastal area west of Chania.

In August Haniotika Nea reported that the Prime Minister had taken a personal interest in the project and had assured the Crete Development Organisation that the repairs would be funded by the government – the possibility of further EU funding being available for the failed project being considered unlikely.

Stopping the leaks
The planned solution to the leaks is the waterproofing of the bottom and abutments of the reservoir, an area of 350 stremmata, by laying a strong high-density polythene (HDPE) membrane at least 2 mm thick. For the creation of the required slope for installing the membrane, earth-moving works will be needed which include excavations on the upper parts of the abutments and embankments on the lower portions of these.

For sealing the bottom of the reservoir basin, a barrier of interlocking piles is to be created at a depth of 30 m. The cost of repairing the leaks has been budgeted at €8.34 million.

A view of the dam from the side with the nearly empty reservoir on the left, and with olive trees and blue sky in the background.
The cost of sealing the dam to stop the leaks is estimated at €8.34 million. Photo: Facebook.

The new pipeline
When the dam was completed and inaugurated in 2014 there was no initial provision for a pipeline to carry the stored water to agricultural holdings. This was to be effected by a bypass to the feed pipe from Meskla: i.e. the pipe carrying water from Meskla would be diverted to the dam during the winter, so that the water stored in the dam could be fed back towards the crops during the summer.

This never worked in practice, since as a result of the leaks the dam was never put into operation. Now a new pipeline is planned which will be connected with the 2A3 reservoir of the Patelari aqueduct.

The work involved includes traversing a watercourse at one point on the route, the construction of sumps for the siting of valves and network monitoring devices, and the restoration of the existing road networks through which it passes.

One section of the pipeline passes through the village of Vatolakkos, while the boundaries of the village of Alikianos are about 400 metres from its course. From there the route heads north and crosses a section of the village of Koufos before arriving at the 2A3 reservoir at Patelari, which is west of the village boundary.

This part of the project is budgeted at €6 million. Thus the total cost of the Valsamiotis dam over 25 years will have been the €44.6 million originally spent, plus €14.34 million for the the repairs and the new pipeline, making a total of €58.94 million.
(Haniotika Nea, 28/09/26, 18/08/26)