Water quality remainshigh despite austerity
Despite the draconian austerity adopted during an eight-year bailout program to keep the country’s debt-laden economy afloat, the quality of tap water reaching Greek households remains one of the best in the world, officials told Xinhua in recent interviews on the occasion of of the World Water Day on Friday.
“We can be proud of having one of the best, let’s say, waters worldwide… Chemists working here have told me that they give to their babies unboiled water,” said Ioannis Benisis, CEO of the state-owned Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP), which serves about 4.5 million customers – almost half of Greece’s population.
The company was awarded a top 10 rating for the high quality of drinking water two years ago, when the European Commission issued the first Urban Water Atlas for Europe on water management in European cities and regions.
Speaking to Xinhua, Benisis explained how this result was achieved and how awareness is raised in particular among younger generations on the protection of water resources.
Greece did not join in the industrialization race of the early 19th century, but remained mainly an agriculture-based economy.
Benisis said the underground remains unpolluted by chemicals and pesticides, which ensure the country’s clean water resources.
[Xinhua]
