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This year I was finally able to swim in the Saronic Gulf. |
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Until 1959, Athens, the capital of Greece, did not have a central sewage unit. From then and on, a net of drainage pipes, which collected the city's effluent, as well as rainwater and industrial waste. Where was the suffix of this net of pipes? Yes you guessed it! As it used to happen then, it was in the sea. The Saronic Gulf that, till that time, was full of marine life, and where people swam near the beautiful beaches, was contaminated by organic and toxic waste in such a degree that many of the species living there were extinct, and the rest of them were unsuitable for consumption. Therefore, people stopped swimming, and the Saronic Gulf gave the impression of a dead sea! Since 1981, Greece has been a member of the European Community. This resulted to legal obligations. One of these was that all towns/cities with over 15.000 population were required to have a primary and secondary sewage processing unit. The primary processing is the removal of the solid waste (through the creation of mud), and the secondary is the elimination of germs. Because of this obligation, in 1984 the Greek state decided to create a ''Central Sewage Processing Unit'' in the island of Psyttaleia. The island Psyttaleia is between Athens and Salamis, where one of the most important sea battles of history took place, the sea battle of Salamis, between the Athenians and the Persians, 480 BC. In this island of dimensions 1.5 km length and 0.25 km width, one of the biggest centers of sewage processing in the world was made, being able to filter up to 1 million cubic meters of sewage a day! In 1994, the ability of the primary waste processing was completed, resulting in the diminution of the pollution by 35-40%. In 2004, the ability of the secondary sewage processing was completed, reducing pollution by over 95%! The processed sewage is still thrown in the sea, but because of the numerous pollution checks, the emission of heavy metals and other toxic substances to the sea has been minimized. Already, the results are evident by the clarity of the sea! Also, people started going again to the beaches and fish and seafood that live in the Saronic Gulf are now suitable for consumption. The Saronic Gulf is once again clear! At the same time, on the island, there is an Electricity Production Unit using biogas and producing 25MW of power. The next stage is the reuse of the water which is resulted either for irrigation, or for industrial use. This may be achieved by a tertiary cleaning process where heavy metals and other substances will be removed. Already, from 2012 our government has decided to accomplish this project. The process has currently slowed down, because of the economic crisis, but it seems that the complete processing of sewage and the reuse of the resulting water is not too far ahead. |
  
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4 Comments
Thank you for sharing, Konstantinos!
Posted 30-11-2014 13:29
This is very good news as the sea is cleaner & people have started swimming.
The next project is also ambitious, reuse of water. UAE is reusing such water from day one. The authorities have designed the infrastructure in such a manner.
All The best.
Thanks for the report, Konstantinos.
Posted 29-09-2014 16:28
Thanks for giving us history of Greece , past and present state of Saronic Gulf .
It is sad to note that till it became part of EU , Athens did not have it's central sewage unit and had been polluting the sea all this while. Better late then never . Great news that for past so many years , there has been major progress and positive step taken towards environment protection of surface and ground water , generating power from biogas , recycling/reusing water.
Water sports lovers or swimmers like you must be really happy getting to go back to the sea's clean water for swimming. Also marine animals must be having better lives.
Posted 29-09-2014 14:08
wow! Konstantinos- Eirinaios Tsiampouris Greece has done very impressive job. Certainly Saronic Gulf will revive its bio diversity very soon.
Electricity production through bio gas is really amazing. and water is better reused fo irrigation purpose.
Kudos to greece government and people!!!
Posted 29-09-2014 12:31