What is the utilization and protection of water resources in Greece?

Greece is a developing Mediterranean country in the southeast of Europe, which is facing a serious water problem. In addition to specific social, economic and management factors, a series of geomorphological, meteorological and hydrological conditions have made water management for sustainable development a very complicated and difficult issue at present. The current water resources management problems have proved that it is not enough to combine economic and social development with environmental and ecological development. This paper expounds the results of economic investigation in Greece and the management of urban water policy. Water shortage mainly occurs in summer, especially on islands. High water use rate, different water price policies, lack of public participation, adopting decentralized rather than comprehensive water management policies, and taking water as a social commodity are all the research results of this paper. This paper evaluates and discusses the current situation, and studies the new urban water management policy, so that the urban water policy in Greece can develop in a sustainable direction.

I. Overview

It is generally believed that the biggest challenges facing water resources management in the world are water shortage, environmental degradation, economic development and ineffective management. Sustainable development provides a scientific, economic and social way to ensure the healthy existence of human beings and the environment. The problem that water resource managers have to deal with is comprehensive water resource management that emphasizes demand management. Of course, sustainable water resources management includes not only demand management, but also policy integration and participation plan.

the challenge now is to integrate demand management into the long-term water supply plan, with the aim of striking a balance between water supply and water protection. Demand management strategy adopts structural method and unstructured method. Structural methods include water leakage inspection, indoor water-saving equipment and basic facilities control; Unstructured methods include economic and legal means of incentive or anti-incentive. To be exact, water demand management with accurate water price can make water management decision more effective. Taking water as an economic resource by considering water price and using economic means are the main advantages of sustainable water supply policy. Obviously, the traditional emphasis on water supply management has led to the depletion of fresh water, over-exploitation and underestimation of water. Therefore, a new sustainable development plan should be adopted in view of the proper degree of water protection and the balance of demand management plan. In order to complete this plan, the public water supply industry should combine all water economic, environmental and social factors, rationally design the water supply plan and focus on environmental pressures: increased per capita water consumption, increased population, urbanization, pollution, resource shortage and other water consumption increases.

in order to integrate water resources management and planning with all the aspects mentioned above, policies play an important role in the decision-making process.

this paper investigates the economic and demand management of urban water policy in Greece, aiming at describing and evaluating the current situation in Greece and looking forward to the prospect of sustainable urban water management.

2. Water problems in Greece

Greece is currently facing serious water-related problems:

1. Due to the planned use of non-renewable water resources, there are problems of water depletion and negative water balance in the water source area. Non-renewable water resources are used to meet the increasing agricultural demand, which leads to the unsustainable use of water resources.

2. In many rivers, lakes, wetlands and underground water sources, the water level drops due to over-exploitation.

3. Water sources are polluted due to the shortage of urban, industrial and agricultural water.

4. Salinization of aquifers in coastal areas is caused by seawater intrusion.

5. The lack of water in summer and the urgent need to meet the basic water supply have caused the current water problems in Greece.

However, according to the classification of annual renewable freshwater resources by the United Nations, Greece is obviously in a favorable position compared with most European and Mediterranean countries. According to this classification, Greece is 584m3/ person? Years, and Italy is 3243m3/ person? In, Spain was 2849m3/ person? In 2, and in Israel, the annual renewable fresh water resources are only 461m3/ person? Years. In fact, the current situation in Greece is worse than the overall or average international indicators, which can be explained by some unique landform, meteorological and hydrological conditions, as well as the particularity of economy, society and management.

First of all, the climate and meteorological conditions in the Mediterranean are wet in winter and dry in summer, which leads to the imbalance of water supply time. In addition, the average precipitation is decreasing, which is estimated to have decreased by more than 25% in the past 4 years, especially the extreme drought in recent years and the drought in the Mediterranean region (1987 ~ 1993) for six consecutive years, which have caused a serious shortage of water supply in winter.

along the main mountain ranges, moist mountain areas are concentrated, while the long coastline areas are quite dry. There are numerous islands with special geomorphological conditions in the Ionian Sea and Aegean Sea, resulting in imbalance in water supply space. As a result, in winter, a large amount of water quickly sinks into the ocean, forming a torrent, stream or river, but there is almost no water flow during the drought period.

Of the five major water systems in the north, only one is completely located in the territory of Greece, and the other four belong to basins across the border, which come from neighboring Balkan countries, and these countries are actually regulating water flow and controlling water quantity.

obviously, Greece is facing the imbalance of water supply distribution in space and time, rather than the real water utilization problem, which is why Greece is well evaluated in the international renewable freshwater resources classification.

besides water supply, there are also problems of spatial and temporal distribution of water demand. Greece is a big agricultural country, and 85% of its water is used in agricultural production. Tourism is also a major water economic activity, especially in coastal areas and land. In summer, due to the demand of agriculture and tourism, seasonal water consumption increases, and the demand cannot be met due to insufficient water supply.

as for the spatial distribution of water demand, it is the change of social and economic structure in recent years. With the rapid economic development and excessive urbanization, the economic activities in Athens and Thessaloniki have been greatly concentrated, which has increased the demand for water.

The current management organization is another reason related to water problems. The centralized and decentralized way of water management cannot combine cross-departmental joint operation with river basin management. Traditional management institutions can neither effectively deal with the fierce competition for limited water resources nor the fierce conflict among water users.

in order to control the changes caused by landform, meteorological and hydrological conditions, water management has given priority to water transfer and water storage by engineering, and large-scale engineering projects have been designed and constructed. However, the engineering method to solve the water problem has led to a series of water management problems. These problems not only cause environmental pressure, but also make the public think that water management and project construction are synonymous, so they can only be solved by engineering methods. No one cares about either changing human behavior or readjusting economic behavior to reduce or control water demand. Water management is not only a traditional problem of water supply and demand balance, although it should be, but also a problem of how to effectively use water in the combination of the main design standards of economic development and the environment.

Third, the urban water supply sector in Greece

Due to the above-mentioned special environment, it seems interesting to adopt the demand-oriented urban water policy in Greece, but it is very difficult to implement it. In the past 15 years, all local cities except Athens and Thessaloniki have been managed by water supply and sewage municipal enterprises (MEWSS). The main difference between the municipal water supply and sewage companies and the water supply departments in Athens and Thessalonica is that the latter belongs to the private sector. This means that in Athens and Thessalonica, water supply institutions will be combined with private enterprises (distributing water to consumers) and semi-local institutions (transferring water rights to private individuals). Municipal water and sewage companies (wholly owned by the government) serve almost half of the population, and the other half are concentrated in Athens and Thessaloniki. Most municipal water sources are groundwater. According to laws and regulations, municipal companies only have the right to allocate water, but have no real say in water resources issues.

IV. Investigation

In order to understand the current situation of urban water management in Greece and the influence of economic, social and environmental factors on sustainable water policy, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Greek cities and islands.

(1) Questionnaire

The questionnaire includes: water price policy; Water use and water demand; Water supply plan funds and related financial issues; The type, quantity and scope of water-related problems, as well as the potential increase in recharge. And distributed the questionnaire to all municipal water supply companies in the country.

(II) Questionnaire sample

The Greek mainland in the northeast part of the Mediterranean Sea is facing serious water problems. Economic development usually leads to environmental degradation and over-exploitation of natural resources. In addition, maintaining and improving natural heritage is also a reason.

Of the 15 islands in Greece, 55% (that is, 8 islands) have less than 1 residents, so this part was not included in this survey. Select the remaining 36 islands with water supply and sewage municipal companies for analysis. In all islands, considering the change of population in summer (due to the increase of tourist population), all water consumption data are concerned about the summer when all peaks appear. A survey was conducted in 49 cities across the country.

(3) Sample distribution

According to the difference of economic development level, all the islands are classified. This paper is concerned with urban water supply institutions, and we believe that tourism is a major economic behavior that determines the economic development of this region. Considering the correlation between the development level of municipal water supply and the development level of tourism is an appropriate assumption for the purpose of this paper. The main indicators defining the development of tourism in this area are: population, area, total number of rooms and number of overnight tourists. According to these indicators, the more total rooms per unit area, the more developed the tourism industry.

V. Methods

Carefully prepared questionnaires were distributed to the managers or individuals of municipal enterprises related to water supply in each city. Descriptive statistical analysis method was used to analyze the data (cross-matching table of absolute and relative frequency, average, minimum, maximum and standard deviation was used). In all the cities studied, the water consumption rate was investigated in the form of average value and standard deviation of volume price, as well as unit consumption, and each type and overall distribution were studied. As for the unit consumption, the change of population in summer (especially the increase of population in inland areas due to tourism) is considered, so the peak of water consumption reflects the drought period, which is also considered. It should be noted that all the unit consumption values in the survey represent the cost consumption, so water loss, leakage and other considerations are not included.

in order to overcome the differences in time periods and structural ranges of different cities, it is necessary to assume a standard to analyze the water consumption rate. The quoted water consumption rate parameter is the reference assumption of charging by volume (VCCR, unit is $/m3, which is equal to the volume charge of the first 6m3 water consumption), and the corresponding time range is assumed to be three months. Calculate the volume charge of the first 6m3 water consumption within three months, and its weighted average is:

VCCR = 3 [(a * b)+(c * d)+(e *).

b, d and f represent the range (m3) of each water consumption according to the proportion of the first 6m3 water consumption;

n is the time range (month) of the list under different research conditions;

3 is the total time period of 3 months;

6 is the first 6m3 water consumption.

in Greece, in general, the water consumption for a household with 3 to 4 members is 2m3 per month. To better understand the above equation, the following table is given:

numerical examples of different tariff structures

water consumption (m3)

water price ($)

~ 2

.125

21 ~ 5

.2

51 ~ 7

.

VI. Results and discussion

From the analysis of the survey results, we can draw useful conclusions about the sustainable development of urban water use in Greece; Refer to the main aspects of water management for sustainable development to evaluate the current situation, and the main conclusions are as follows:

1. Serious water-related problems: The investigation confirmed the seriousness of the current situation, mainly related to water shortage. Because of tourism and seasonal population changes, the already sensitive water balance is further disturbed, resulting in serious water shortage. In addition, water quality problems, the exhaustion of available water sources, and financial defects that lead to the ineffectiveness of establishing a new water supply plan are also the reasons for the current grim situation.

2. High water consumption, especially in areas where available water sources are sensitive. The main reasons are as follows:

(1) Inelastic characteristics of tourism. Due to the great increase in water demand caused by the increase of tourist population, the hotel accommodation fee does not include water price or charge special fees for high water consumption, so it cannot stimulate water saving. In addition, the tourism sector does not make full use of advanced technology to recycle water and reuse water, which is the result of the lack of effective economic policies.

(2) Ineffectiveness of water price policy

(3) Lack of public education and public awareness

(4) Orientation of water supply in water management

3. Ineffectiveness of applied water price policy: the current water price policy has not stimulated water saving. Usually the price of water increases, so does the demand. At the same time, the higher the water price, the greater the water consumption. Especially, the lack of correlation between water price and water demand in island areas shows that the water price policy is invalid. On the other hand, the water fee in island areas is usually twice that in mainland areas, while the corresponding water consumption has only decreased by 15%. The high water fee reflects the high operation and maintenance costs, not to save water.

4. water supply orientation policy: the demand for new water supply projects and the demand for developing new water sources reflect the water supply orientation of urban water management. The results of the existing water supply policy are: the continuous increase of water demand; High water consumption; Environmental degradation; In order to meet the water demand, new projects are constantly started, which makes the economy stagnate.

the most important pressure caused by the water supply-oriented policy is the exhaustion of existing water sources in many areas.

5. Water is a social commodity: treat water as a social commodity rather than an economic resource. This is mainly confirmed by the low water fee ($.3/m3). According to the survey, the water price only reflects the operation and maintenance costs: network maintenance, water treatment and public services, without considering the environment and replacement costs.

VII. Suggestions and opinions

Obviously, in order to meet the current needs without endangering the future needs, it is necessary to combine economic, social, management, scientific and policy factors to achieve sustainable development. The suggestions of investigation and analysis are as follows:

1. Demand management policy is the only choice to replace water supply management policy, which can ensure a win-win situation for economic development and environmental protection. It is an effective and widely accepted policy to modify economic activities and social behaviors by stimulating or non-stimulating economic means to make them develop in the direction of sustainable water management. Adopting different economic policies for different water use behaviors, such as tourism on the island, is another alternative for demand management policies. In addition to unstructured methods, it is also an effective tool to protect water by using double-coupled network as an auxiliary in low-water quality systems.

2. Water price plays an important role in obtaining the ideal demand level, and each water management institution should have full autonomy to operate and maintain the system in a sustainable way.