He had seen the water level at the Livadi dam reach such low levels before, and even lower than this year. On the other hand, the island of Astypalaia had never had such great needs for water: In just five years, and in the midst of a climate crisis, water consumption had increased by 60%. As the mayor of the island, Nikos Komineas was not willing to take such a risk. In January, the municipal council unanimously decided “to travel to Athens for a meeting with the minister, to submit an official request to declare a state of emergency on the Municipality of Astypalaia due to the prolonged drought.”
And so it was. The file with all the supporting documents was submitted in February and, three months later, in early May, Komineas had in his hands the long-awaited entry at the Government Gazette. A temporary state of emergency was declared on the small island of the Dodecanese, an archipelago of 15 major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea, due to water shortages. “Prevention is better than cure,” he told Kathimerini over the phone.
The news about Astypalaia, which only a few years ago had even been touted as the first green and sustainable Greek island, was gloomy. “Is the island in a hopeless situation?” I asked the mayor. “No,” he replied directly. “We have water that can cover the needs, but if we don’t do something, autumn will come and we won’t have a single drop of water in the dam and therefore the villages won’t have water. I have to make sure that we have the ability to cover future needs,” he explained.
