Alert sounded for capital’s Kifissos River
Municipalities in ‘state of mobilization’ ordered to clear waterways amid possibility of Athens flood
The possibility of a major flood in Athens has prompted the Civil Protection Ministry to make use of a recent legislative provision and instruct the Region of Attica and 24 municipalities through which the Kifissos river and two of its tributaries, the Podoniftis and Eschatia, flow, to proceed immediately in cleaning out the waterways.
The municipalities have been placed in a “state of special mobilization of civil protection” so that the task of cleaning the streams is directly assigned in a process similar to one employed for a state of emergency in disaster-affected areas, allowing the concession of projects through expedited procedures rather than public tenders.
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said on Tuesday that the decision to instruct the municipalities to take action was based on the results of on-site inspections a few days ago at Kifissos regarding the flood risk. Accompanied by members of the press, the minister had spoken of large amounts of rubble and garbage amassed on the riverbed.
“Thus, the Region of Attica and the municipalities can proceed without any further delay in tendering the cleaning and restoration of the Kifissos bed and its streams,” he said on Tuesday.
The Attica Region had responded a few days ago with a statement stressing that it had already conducted inspections “at all visible points along the waterway” and that “no problems of overflow or blockage by debris were observed.” It also noted that Kifissos, “being a river, is self-cleaning and has never had blockage problems due to the presence of bulky objects on its bed.”
What’s more, it stated that all the flood risk management studies that have been carried out (by the University of Athens, the Athens Observatory, the National Technical University of Athens, etc) concerning Kifissos “indicate that the river’s problem has to do with its limited drainage capacity and not with issues related to clearing.”
However, in the next few days, the Region of Attica will recruit an expert to inspect the underground stretch (7 km) of the Kifissos, with the help of cameras and manholes, as it is dangerous to enter on foot over such a long distance. Kathimerini understands the expert will submit an initial report a few days later to decide on what type of interventions may be needed.
