Greek Water Reports
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Greece water dashboard

Primary-source water decisions & stress across Greece — Diavgeia acts, permit refusals, island emergencies

A Greece-wideview of what the country's water utilities (ΔΕΥΑ) and Water Directorates are actually deciding — nationwide Diavgeia acts, borehole & well refusals pulled from all 13 regional Water Directorates, and island emergency status. Every figure traces to a public record (ΑΔΑ / RBMP / civil-protection declaration). Crete is the most deeply seeded municipality-level region and sits at the bottom as a worked example — its figures are Crete-only, not the national totals.

4,311
Water acts · 2 yrWater-related decisions the municipal utilities published on Diavgeia — Greece's official government-transparency portal — over the last two years. The sparkline shows the month-by-month trend.
37
DEYAs trackedΔΕΥΑ are Greece's municipal water and sewerage companies — the local utilities that supply drinking water and treat wastewater. This is how many we currently monitor.
municipal water utilities
76,222
Permit records assessedEvery borehole/well permit decision pulled row-by-row from the 13 regional Water Directorates over 2016–2026 via the Diavgeia OpenData API (water-unit filtered) — 75,031 grants + 1,191 refusals/revocations. Exact and ΑΔΑ-verified, not an estimate.
pulled · 13 directorates · 2016–26
1191
Refusals on recordBorehole/well permit requests the Water Directorates formally refused or revoked — each one verified against a public decision (ΑΔΑ) on Diavgeia. It's a “floor”: the true number is at least this, since a refusal worded outside our search terms wouldn't surface.
all 13 directorates · floor
1.6%
Formal denial rateOf every permit decision on record, the share that was a refusal (refusals ÷ all decisions). A low national rate isn't proof water is available — it mostly reflects how a directorate records decisions. Refusals concentrate in Attica and Crete.
1,191 of 76,222 · exact
9
Islands in emergencyAegean islands under an official civil-protection water-emergency declaration — for example a desalination-plant failure or an acute summer shortage that triggered state emergency measures.
of 29 tracked islands
84/588
Aquifers over-drawn · WFDGroundwater bodies rated “poor” for quantity under the EU Water Framework Directive — pumped faster than they naturally refill. Source: Greece's official River Basin Management Plans (RBMP, 3rd cycle). Where a new well is most likely to be refused.
quantitative status · RBMP 3
31
Sewerage ≥90% fullWastewater-treatment plants estimated to be running at or above 90% of their design capacity — little headroom to accept new connections. A proxy indicator derived from ΥΠΕΝ (Environment Ministry) 2025 data, not a live utility feed. Scored over 280 of 282 monitored plants — 2 lack a capacity or connection figure, so this denominator is smaller than the 282-plant compliance count.
of 280 scored · proxy
1.6%denied
Formal denial rate
≈ 1 in 64 decisions
1,191 refusals of 76,200 · exact, row-level

Nationwide Diavgeia acts · South Aegean Water-Directorate permits · Aegean island emergencies — each detailed in its own panel below.

01

The two axes — resource & network

A connection can be refused for two independent reasons: the aquifer is over-drawn (resource), or the sewerage plant that would serve the site is failing or full (network). Read them together.

Resource axis · aquifers

National groundwater status

Every groundwater body in Greece (588), by river basin district, from the official Water Framework Directive plan (3rd-cycle RBMP). Bars rank districts by quantitativestatus — a body is “poor” when it is over-abstracted, which is the capacity constraint behind a refusal.
588
Groundwater bodiesEvery distinct aquifer (groundwater body) Greece assesses under the EU Water Framework Directive — the units the good/poor ratings below are counted over.
84
Over-abstractedAquifers rated “poor” for quantity — pumped out faster than rain and rivers refill them. This is the resource limit that gets a new well refused.
14% of bodies
86
Chemically poorAquifers rated “poor” for chemistry — polluted (e.g. nitrates or saltwater intrusion). A separate problem from over-pumping, shown here for context.
pollution, separate axis
111
Not in good statusAquifers that fail on either axis — quantity or chemistry. The Water Framework Directive's headline “is this water body healthy?” verdict.
poor on either axis
Good on both axes477Not in good status111
District · worst first0%30%over-drawn
ThessalyGR0810/3429%
AtticaGR066/2425%
Western MacedoniaGR0910/4821%
Aegean IslandsGR1423/11420%
Central MacedoniaGR107/3818%
Northern PeloponneseGR026/3418%
Eastern PeloponneseGR036/3418%
Eastern MacedoniaGR112/1513%
CreteGR1310/9111%
Western Sterea ElladaGR042/268%
ThraceGR121/186%
Eastern Sterea ElladaGR071/452%
EpirusGR050/400%
Western PeloponneseGR010/270%

Reading it:quantitative “poor” = the aquifer is drawn down faster than it recharges (the capacity limit). Chemical “poor” is a separate pollution axis. A body is “not in good status” if either fails — 111 of 588 nationally.

Source: Special Secretariat for Water (ΥΠΕΝ / Ε.Γ.Υ.) · layer gr_gwb_greece_2rev (Υπόγεια Υδατικά Συστήματα – 2η Αναθεώρηση (approved 3rd RBMP)) · WFD 3rd-cycle RBMP · 588 bodies across 14 river basin districts. Retrieved from the ΥΠΕΝ WFS service; every body carries an explicit ΚΑΛΗ/ΚΑΚΗ value (no unclassified bodies).

Network axis · sewerage & treatment

Sewerage & treatment capacity

The network axis — whether the wastewater plant serving a place is compliant and has room for a new connection. A refusal can land here even where the aquifer is fine (this is what stopped the Plaka 5★: the Elounda plant runs near capacity). Live ΥΠΕΝ monitoring, reference year 2025.
282
Treatment plantsUrban wastewater-treatment plants monitored nationally by the Environment Ministry (ΥΠΕΝ) — the network side of a connection decision.
35
Non-compliant (2025)Plants failing their EU treatment standards in the latest reporting year (2025) — discharging inadequately treated wastewater. A live pass/fail from the utility, not an estimate.
failing right now
31
At capacity (≥90%)Plants estimated to be running at 90%+ of the population load they were built for — little room to accept a new connection. A proxy (connected population ÷ design size), not a live meter.
of 280 scored · proxy
11
Over 100%Plants whose estimated load already exceeds the capacity they were designed for — overloaded. Same population-based proxy as “at capacity”.
load exceeds design
Passing compliance247Failing35
Plant · worst first0%100% of designload
POROS-GALATASnon-compliant100%
OURANOPOLInon-compliant92%
IERISSOSnon-compliant89%
SOFADESnon-compliant88%
ARGOS ORESTIKOnon-compliant84%
PYTHAGORIOnon-compliant75%
PLATYnon-compliant68%
DESFINAnon-compliant67%
LEFKADAnon-compliant66%
KAMENA VOURLAnon-compliant61%
75% constrained threshold90% at-capacity thresholdLoad ≥ design capacity

Two signals: compliance is the utility's live pass/fail; utilisation is a proxy — connected population ÷ design capacity (p.e.), not a metered hydraulic load — so read it as an indicator, not a meter reading.

Source: ΥΠΕΝ — Wastewater Treatment Plants Monitoring Database (astikalimata.ypeka.gr), reference year 2025. Design capacity in p.e.; a direct metered load and m³/day capacity are not exposed by this source.

02

Decisions & refusals

What the utilities and the Water Directorates are actually deciding — every act traceable to its ΑΔΑ on diavgeia.gov.gr.

Decisions · national DEYA record

Diavgeia water decisions

Every water-relevant act published by Greece's municipal water utilities (ΔΕΥΑ) to the national Diavgeia transparency portal — pulled automatically, classified, and counted. Primary source, CC-BY.
Live · 37 DEYAs
4,311
Water actsEvery water-related decision the utilities published to Diavgeia in this window, classified and counted. The sparkline is the month-by-month trend.
856
Clean approvalsActs classified as a straightforward approval — a permit or connection granted with no stated conditions.
27
Conditional approvalsActs approved but with conditions attached — e.g. metering, seasonal limits or works required first. A yes, with strings.
37
DEYAs trackedDistinct municipal water utilities (ΔΕΥΑ) that appear in this dataset — the local companies posting these decisions.

What the decisions say

Refusals & restrictions0
Conditional approvals27
Clean approvals856
Context3,428

Why almost no refusals here? Utilities post approvals, studies and tenders to Diavgeia — a connection refusal is rarely published as its own act, so it barely registers in this signal mix. That is not an absence of refusals: refusals sit in the Water-Directorate permit layer below. We've pulled all 13 regional directorates — 1,191 borehole & well refusals on record, a floor (the South Aegean is itemised below as a sample). Counts here are also a floor — where a 180-day window held >200 acts, only the newest 200 were classified.

Acts per month

20266051292025-022026-072025-02: 45 acts2025-03: 112 acts2025-04: 134 acts2025-05: 259 acts2025-06: 404 acts2025-07: 9 acts2025-08: 17 acts2025-09: 58 acts2025-10: 130 acts2025-11: 227 acts2025-12: 605 acts2026-01: 8 acts2026-02: 41 acts2026-03: 75 acts2026-04: 173 acts2026-05: 306 acts2026-06: 493 acts2026-07: 129 acts

Hover a month for its count. The sawtooth is publication cadence — acts cluster at billing and budget deadlines. Showing the latest 18 months of the record; 251 of 4,311 acts carry no parseable date and sit outside this trend.

Most active utilities

DEYA0376acts
DEYA VisaltiaCentral Macedonia · Serres376
DEYA SymiSouth Aegean · Dodecanese, near Rhodes312
DEYA VoioWestern Macedonia · Kozani307
DEYA EretriaCentral Greece · Euboea (Evia)295
DEYA SkydraCentral Macedonia · Pella196
DEYA KavalaEast Macedonia & Thrace · Kavala (port city)165
DEYA Dion–OlymposCentral Macedonia · Pieria (Mt Olympus)159
DEYA NestosEast Macedonia & Thrace · Kavala154
DEYA MeteoraThessaly · Trikala (Meteora)154
DEYA Mantoudi–Limni–Agia AnnaCentral Greece · North Euboea149

Coverage: 37 DEYA utilities, issue dates 2024-07-11..2026-07-10, one page (200) per 180-day window per org. Totals/signals/categories are national (all 37). Where a window held >200 acts, only the newest 200 were classified, so counts are a floor. Monthly trend and top-15 reflect the 25 busiest utilities (~94% of classified acts). A full pull removes the per-utility page cap.

Dataset generated 2026-07-10 · water-relevant acts since 2024-07-11 · primary source diavgeia.gov.gr (CC-BY), each act traceable to its ΑΔΑ.

Decisions · the refusal layer

Water-permit refusals

Borehole (γεώτρηση) and well permits are decided by Greece's 13 regional Water Directorates; refusals and revocations are recorded here. We've pulled all 13. The itemised, applicant-level ledger below is the South Aegean, shown as a sample. Primary source: Diavgeia.

National refusals on record — 1,191

all 13 directorates · floor

850 new applications refused + 341 permits revoked · 130 companies / 1,061 individuals · 2016-07 to 2026-07. Every one of Greece's 13 regional Water Directorates searched; each pull is a search-bounded floor, so the true count is higher still. South Aegean covers 2024–26 only, pending its 10-year rebuild.

Water Directorate0682refusals
Attica682
Crete277
Epirus66
Peloponnese41
East Macedonia–Thrace40
South Aegean23
Sterea Ellada17
North Aegean15
Ionian Islands8
Central Macedonia8
Thessaly6
West Greece5
West Macedonia3

"23" was the South Aegean alone — one directorate of 13. The national floor is 1,191.

Recent snapshot

~6-month South Aegean window · a sample of approval behaviour
179
Permits decided
172
Approved / renewed
7
Rejected / revoked
96.1%
Approval rate
Approved / renewedRejected / revoked
Municipality032app / rej
Paroswater emergency28 / 4
Andros30
Rhodeswater emergency22
Naxos & Lesser Cycladeswater emergency20 / 1
Kos12
Mykonoswater emergency12
Syros-Ermoupoli10
Tinoswater emergency9
Leroswater emergency6
Municipality032app / rej
Kea5
Thira (Santorini)water emergency5
Serifos2 / 2
Antiparos3
Sifnoswater emergency3
Kythnos2
Karpathoswater emergency2
Milos1

Every S. Aegean refusal on record — 2024-01 to 2026-07

S. Aegean · itemised sample · floor

23 refusals — 0 new applications denied + 23 permits revoked · 1 companies / 22 individuals.

Companies1Individuals22

Applicant mix varies by municipality. On Mykonos (4/4) and Serifos (3/3) every refused well is a company; on Paros (10) they are mostly individuals.

Paros 10 · 1 co.Mykonos 4 · 4 co.Naxos & Lesser Cyclades 3Serifos 3 · 3 co.Sifnos 1Kea 1Patmos 1

🔒 We track every refusal on the record. The itemised detail — applicant, decision wording and each ΑΔΑ — is unlocked in a report.

Unlock in a report
  • 2016-09-23ΜΗΛΟΥCompanyRevoked · Green/landscape

  • 2017-06-29ΝΑΞΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2018-01-11ΜΥΚΟΝΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2019-10-02ΝΑΞΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2020-07-23ΝΑΞΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2020-09-23ΣΥΡΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2021-07-06ΜΥΚΟΝΟΥIndividualRevoked · Domestic/potable

  • 2021-07-07ΜΥΚΟΝΟΥIndividualRevoked · Domestic/potable

  • 2021-08-02ΜΥΚΟΝΟΥIndividualRevoked · Domestic/potable

  • 2021-12-22ΚΥΘΝΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2022-08-16ΑΝΤΙΠΑΡΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2022-12-08ΝΑΞΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2023-03-20ΣΥΡΟΥ-ΕΡΜΟΥΠΟΛΗΣIndividualRevoked · Domestic/potable

  • 2024-03-05ΠΑΡΟΥIndividualRevoked ·

  • 2024-12-04ΚΑΛΥΜΝΟΥIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

  • 2025-02-04ΠΑΡΟΥIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

  • 2025-02-07ΠΑΡΟΥIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

  • 2025-10-29ΚΕΑΣIndividualRevoked · ΠΟΛΛΑΠΛΗ

  • 2025-12-09ΜΥΚΟΝΟΥIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

  • 2026-01-22ΣΥΡΟΥ ΕΡΜΟΥΠΟΛΗΣIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

  • 2026-03-13ΑΝΔΡΟΥIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

  • 2026-07-15ΑΝΔΡΟΥIndividualRevoked · Domestic/potable

  • 2026-07-17ΣΥΡΟΥ ΕΡΜΟΥΠΟΛΗΣIndividualRevoked · Irrigation

Refusals & revocations ONLY, 2024–mid 2026. A floor: page-save truncation retained ~77% of decisions per 6-month window, so the true count is at least this. Separate scope from the recent approve/reject snapshot. · warehouse (data/acts) — Diavgeia OpenData API by water unit, exact · generated 2026-07-10.

03

Where the stress sits

Observed, cited stress per island, with the WFD aquifer layer ringed on top.

Geography · island stress

Greece water map

Marker fill shows observed, cited stress — declared emergencies and refused wells. A red ring marks islands whose own aquifer is over-abstracted under the WFD: 13 of 29 mapped islands sit over an over-drawn groundwater body (joined by the official body name, N <island>). Grey fill means no cited event — not a clean bill of health.
Observed stress + WFD aquifer
Andros — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Tinos — Declared water emergency · Emergency declared (2026) · aquifer good (WFD)Kea — Wells refused / chronic stress · 1 well refused · aquifer good (WFD)Kythnos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Syros — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Mykonos — Wells refused / chronic stress · 4 wells refused · aquifer good (WFD)Serifos — Wells refused / chronic stress · 3 wells refused · aquifer good (WFD)Sifnos — Declared water emergency · 1 well refused · 2024 emergency · aquifer good (WFD)Milos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Antiparos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Paros — Declared water emergency · 10 wells refused · Emergency declared (recurring) · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Naxos — Declared water emergency · 3 wells refused · 2024: main reservoir dried up · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Ios — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Amorgos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Folegandros — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Thira (Santorini) — Declared water emergency · May 2025: 15 villages cut (desalination failure) · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Patmos — Wells refused / chronic stress · 1 well refused · aquifer good (WFD)Leros — Declared water emergency · 2024 & 2026: Navy shipped water · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Kalymnos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Kos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Astypalaia — Declared water emergency · Emergency declared (2026) · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Symi — Declared water emergency · Emergency declared (2026) · aquifer good (WFD)Rhodes — Wells refused / chronic stress · aquifer good (WFD)Karpathos — Declared water emergency · Emergency declared (2026) · aquifer good (WFD)Lesvos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Chios — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Samos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)Ikaria — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer good (WFD)Limnos — No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending · aquifer over-drawn (WFD)

29 tracked islandsMarker fill shows only stress we could cite — a declared emergency or a refused well. Grey means no cited event, not a clean bill of health. A red ring marks islands sitting over an over-drawn aquifer (WFD).

Declared water emergency9
Wells refused / chronic stress5
No cited stress signal · per-island WFD pending15
Aquifer over-drawn · WFD13

Hover a marker for the island's citations. Marker size only distinguishes islands with a signal.

Coastline: Natural Earth-derived Greece outline (mainland + islands). Emergencies: civil-protection declarations 2024–26. Refusals: S. Aegean Water Directorate borehole denials, each with an ΑΔΑ on diavgeia.gov.gr. WFD: Aegean Islands (GR14), 114 groundwater bodies, 3rd-cycle RBMP — 23 over-abstracted (quantitative poor), 23 not in good status (ΥΠΕΝ / Ε.Γ.Υ. WFS, layer gr_gwb_greece_2rev). Island rings join each island to bodies named for it (N <island>), worst-case status.

04

Crete — seeded regional detail

A municipality-level worked example — the most deeply seeded region, separate from the nationwide layers above. The figures below are Crete municipalities, not the national totals.

Aposelemis reservoir

as of 2025-10-18

Serves Heraklion, Hersonissos, and neighbouring municipalities

10%2,604,953 m³ stored
0%full

Red tick = 20% supply-cut alert threshold. Historic low: 1,080,000 m³ (2018). source

Hotels vs residential allocation

Sample — not real data

Illustrative only. This panel activates when a municipality shares metering data; the shape below is a placeholder to show the concept, not a measurement.

Hotels / tourism Residential
Hersonissos
62%
38%
Agios Nikolaos
48%
52%
Faistos
21%
79%

By municipality · Crete & national anchors (seed)

MunicipalityRegionStatusRefused m³/dayLast update

Agios Nikolaos (Plaka)

DEYAN (Agios Nikolaos)

CreteDocumented refusal236.262025-12

Viannos

Municipality of Viannos water service

CreteConstrained—2025-05

Faistos (Mesara)

DEYA Faistos

CreteWater emergency—2025-10

Hersonissos

DEYA Hersonissos

CreteConstrained—2025-10

Apokoronas

DEYA Apokoronas

CreteConstrained—2016-07

Archanes-Asterousia

Municipality of Archanes-Asterousia water service

CreteConstrained—2023-05

Gavdos

Municipality of Gavdos water service

CreteConstrained—2024-08

Attica (Athens metropolitan area)

EYDAP (Athens Water Supply & Sewerage)

AtticaConstrained—2025-08

Karditsa / Lake Plastira

Municipality of Karditsa water service

ThessalyConstrained—2025

Full provenance and per-source verification on the data-source map.