Plug pulled on water pumping station

A week after storm Daniel, the villages of Korda and Marathea, bordering the regional units of Karditsa and Trikala, are still half-submerged in the floodwaters, with local authorities asking for a nearby pumping station to drain the area and reduce the health threat posed by the accumulation of debris and carcasses of dead animals, which are now in a state of decomposition.

The pumping station, consisting of three tanks, did not operate at all throughout the disaster last week as, reportedly, the power supply to the facility was cut off due to the flooding.

Thus, a project that was built to deal with flooding did not work when it was most needed because of the flooding.

Residents of the area are blaming the local municipality, saying that while it was known that storm Daniel was approaching, no one checked the readiness of the infrastructure or made provisions for an alternative power supply by installing a generator, despite the fact that there is a high probability of power cuts during natural disasters.

The pumping station in the Klokotou area is one of the few flood protection works in the region constructed a few years ago. It was built on the Megas riverbed, with the aim of transferring water from there to the Pineios River at times of heavy flooding.

The facility was reportedly inspected by experts a few days ago to see if there was any possibility of it being operational and the assessment was that it could with minor repair work. However, decisions on this have been delayed after disagreements between the deputy regional governors of Karditsa, Trikala and Larissa as the water that will be removed, if the pumping station is put into operation, will fall into the bed of the Pineios River with the neighboring regional units concerned about new flooding within their boundaries. 

Sources said on Wednesday that procedures have been initiated to transfer a generator to the pumping station.