Nature created the river the ancient Greeks named it Asopos, and considered it to be the son of the god Poseidon.

For about 40 years now, industries had been contaminating the river Asopos, located near Athens, a city with a population over 4millions. These industries into the industrial zone of Viotia had been releasing chromium, lead and other dangerous substances which polluted not only the river, but also the groundwater of the areas around it. A large part of the nearby area was used for farming purposes as a result its crop was made harmful. In addition, these chemicals were contaminating the north coasts of Athens, where millions of people visit each year to swim. Substances such as chromium, lead and chlorine, which were found in the water, have been proven to lead to cancer. Also the chemicals influenced the rich biodiversity on the delta of the river, where more than 140 different species of birds have been recorded. The water was found to contain chromium in concentration 200 times bigger than the limit under which it should be.

The problem of the pollution of Asopos had been encountered in the past. Local residents had complained about it. Therefore, new laws enforced the factories to control their waste. However, never did the government manage to apply these laws, since not enough state control was made. The owners of the factories in many occasions had received funds to construct filters which they did not. In addition the state controls were rare, and many times it would be more profitable for the industries to pay the low fines instead of fixing the pollution problem.

This issue came finally to light in 2009, when the local residents accused  the owners of industries near the river of polluting it. However, the court trial was postponed for several years while the factories kept polluting the river.

The local residents took initiative against the pollution of the river, because the government was not properly reacting to the problem. They protested and fought against the abuse that the industries were making, and the problem became known to the public.

Over the last two years the state has tried to recover the problem by forcing the industries to pay high fines. However, the most important thing is that water is brought from other nearby areas, a project which costs 37 million Euros, so that everyone on the area will have access to clean water, and the cultivations will be properly grown. This is one of the largest environmental projects which have taken place in Greece, which consists of two parts. One is the water supply to urban and industrial areas, and the other one is the construction of a water pipeline, which will have a length of 5.400 m and will provide 20 thousand cubic meters of water daily. This pipeline will be connected with other secondary pipelines of nearby areas so that the clean water will be spread and will gradually replace the underground contaminated water.

In my opinion, it is great that the local residents took the initiative of solving the problem of the pollution of the river. However, it would be better for everyone if things did not get in such an extreme situation. People should prevent such catastrophes instead of solving them when they happen. After all, even the owners of such industries are not much different from us they probably share many concerns that we do, and we should try to affect them.


Sources:

http://www.ecozen.gr/perivalon/prostasia/item/3278-ypeka-diatithentai-37-600-000-evro-gia-ton-katharismo-tou-asopoy

http://www.hellasforce.com/blog/potamos-asopos-apodedigmeno-perivallontiko-egklima/

http://www.tanea.gr/news/greece/article/5145876/me-katharo-nero-tha-kseplynoyn-thn-plhgh/