Kifissos riverbed damage stokes concern

Serious damage to the underground bed of the Kifissos River in Athens has been identified by a team of speleologists. 

The team was conducting an underground expedition and had reached a section beneath the Kifissou KTEL bus terminal, when they came across a hill of trash and debris as well as a lake that may have formed as a result of the bottom being destroyed. 

The findings highlight the necessity of inspecting the stability of the surface and cleaning the subsurface riverbed because nobody wants to consider what may occur if the Kifissos were to “clog up” during a significant downpour. 

The exploration was carried out last Sunday by five people from the Geomythiki group (Giorgos Kafantaris, Stavros Maroulis, Theodora Alikakou, Kerry Currie, Dimitris Theodosopoulos), a group of cavers who carry out “urban explorations.” 

The group started their expedition from the point where the Kifissos is “undergrounded,” at the border of Nea Chalkidona with the Municipality of Athens, in order to cross the 7 kilometers of the underground route (up to the level of the Nikaia-Renti junction). 

However, in the end they managed to reach only halfway, running into insurmountable obstacles beneath the KTEL station.