The municipal faction “Kythera - Antikythera - We live here” issued a press release regarding the meeting of the Economic Committee of the Municipality of Kythera, on the subject of «Drilling and replacement of municipal wells of the Municipality of Kythera».
In the press release, reference is made to the party's positions on the water reserve and the water supply of the island and criticizes the municipal authority for the strategic planning that «unfortunately is not in the priorities of the current majority», as it says.
Here is the press release:
“Kythera-Antikythera -ΜWe are here”
On 26/9 we received an invitation ( and the study ) for “ emergency by email (email) meeting of the Economic Committee of the Municipality of Kythera, to be held on Tuesday, 27/09/2022, starting at 10:00 am and ending at 10:30 am, with the following single agenda item:
Approval of the study number 79/2022 dated 23/09/2022 ......... for the project entitled: «Drilling and replacement of municipal boreholes of the Municipality of Kythera», with a total study budget of 640.106,90 € including VAT.
INTRODUCTION :
..concerning the replacement of old and drilling of new water wells in the Municipality of Kythera for the service and strengthening of the water supply needs of the Municipality.........................
This contract is financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund of the Recovery Pillar «GREEN TRANSITION», under Priority Axis 1.4 (TA-01 Recovery Fund, Identifier 16850) «Sustainable use of resources, climate change resilience and biodiversity conservation», ............
Our faction submitted its opinion at the meeting and publicly underlines the need for a perspective that will increase the water reserve of the islands alongside the measures to save and reduce losses... The lack of preparation of our Municipality in this direction is characteristic (last minute study) as well as the referral to the courts of the aquifer enrichment projects. ( No mature study ...)
The guarantee for a smooth water supply and the preservation of biodiversity lies in the retention of rainwater , the development of crops , the existence of tanks in the houses with incentives.
The municipal authority operates with a lack of transparency in its choices, does not care about the support of such actions by the island's institutions and uses millions of euros in funding with dubious results.
Our party insists on the direction of a democratic open debate on the infrastructure of our islands. The existence of strategic planning is unfortunately not among the priorities of the existing majority despite the workshops mainly for sensationalism and electioneering that it organizes from time to time ....
The following is the written statement by Manos Trifilli to the Finance Committee.
“For the umpteenth time we are called to an extraordinary meeting with a 24-hour notice. Obviously we support the smooth water supply of our islands and the modernization of the existing boreholes . We even point out the need for modern piping installations which will not have the problems of oxidation and precipitation that we face. The technology exists and should be included as a condition in the call for contractors.
We note, however, that despite the lofty declarations, an important infrastructure issue is proposed without a plan at the last minute, in flagrant contradiction to the title of the call “on sustainable use of resources“.
The municipal authority is resorting to the beaten track, unlike other municipalities that use the measure for the construction of ponds and small dams in order to enrich the aquifer.
The technical report lacks information on the retreat of aquifer levels and at the same time makes reference to the possibility of waterlogging. There is no mention of the phenomenon of the collapse of the flow rates of surface springs, which is constantly increasing.
We consider the superficial approach to water resources management a major problem and call on the municipal majority to plan substantially and for the long term. .
We therefore vote no, protesting both the procedure and the substance.”
The councillors
George Didymiotis
Manos Trifyllis
Chrysoula Facea
