Clea writes*
The water supply system in the Attica region dates to the 5th century BC. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the water system was small-scale, but they Athens’ water management expanded to adapt to droughts, urbanization and population.
The Marathon reservoir with its dam and its aqueduct were the first main constructions, finished in 1931. Then, three other reservoirs (Yliki, Mornos and Evinos) with their related aqueducts were built to meet the capital’s demands. The water supply system covers 4000 square kilometers (G.-Fivos Sargentis et al. 2019).
In recent decades Athens faced new challenges including rising temperatures and financial restrictions. Greece faced a massive economic crisis from 2008 onwards, and the Greek state received major loans in 2010, 2012 and 2015 from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (the “Troika” ). The Troika required the creation of the Hellenic Republic Asset Fund, which would privatize state assets, such as EYDAP — the Athens Water and Sewage Company (Pempetzoglou and Patergiannaki, 2017).
Greek citizens protested privatizations as a threat to the quality and price of water services. In Athens, “SOStonero” and “Save Greek Water” joined the European movement “Right2Water” to defend water as a common good.
The Council of State decided in 2014 that privatization was unconstitutional, so water utilities should stay under state control (European Water Movement). But Greece must still follow the Troika’s austerity measures, so 49% of EYDAP was privatized with the other 51% held by the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participation (HCAP), a state-owned fund (Shareholders composition Eydap, 2022). Activists think that the state is trying to privatize EYDAP despite the state’s majority share (Tasos Kokkinidis, 2023).
Bottom line: The 2008 financial crisis forced the Greek state to (partially) privatize Athens’ water company, which triggered resistance by citizens afraid of higher prices and outsider control.
* Please help my Water Scarcity students by commenting on unclear analysis, alternative perspectives, better data sources, or maybe just saying something nice 🙂
Hey Clea, this is a really interesting post! It gives a great overview of Athens’ water system and the challenges it faces, especially in its governance. The tension between economic necessity and privatisation requirements and keeping water as a common state-controlled good is especially compelling. I also liked how you related water-related issues to economic crises, which is something many countries face, showing how resource management is closely connected to political and economic pressures.
I was wondering, you mentioned Greek citizens protesting privatisation and the threat of water quality, have there been noticeable changes in water quality, or also costs, since EYDAP’s partial privatization? How do you think the governance of water utilities will change in the future, will it remain as is or will privatisation take a larger share?
Hello Suhotra ! Thanks for your comment !
Let me try to answer your questions as precisely as I can.
EYDAP has finally not been privatized and is mainly owned by the government. As far as I know there haven’t been any significant changes in prices or quality after the economic crisis. By the way, the Athenian water quality is considered to be really good. But there have been cuts in the public sector during the economic crisis. The wages were thus lower and paying the bills was harder.
Recently a law has been voted to transfer the control of the water and sewage systems to the Regulatory Energy Authority ( renamed the Waste Energy and Water Regulatory Authority ). And this authority is not under the supervision of the state. Therefore, it is considered by environmental activists as another attempt of privatization. Since 2014, the privatization of the water utilities has been forbidden in the Greek constitution. This constitutes an important obstacle.
The European movement for water and its local greek branches might also fight against any further attempts of privatization. It worked 10 years ago but I don’t know if it will be the case today.