Water shortage hits in the middle of summer More and more regions of Greece – Aegean islands in their own right – some insist on using hundreds of cubic meters of water to fill large pools. Of course, the lack of water is a “privilege” not only of islands, but also of continental areas. now threatens Attica as well. On the islands, however, the water shortage is more apparent, as their population grows exponentially every summer due to the influx of tourists.
“Sweaters” of Paros
In this “sport” of luxurious individualism, Paros’ “sweaters” excel by applying the doctrine of “fill your tank, let others thirst.” Water scarcity has also knocked on the door of Paros, where water consumption has increased alarmingly (34% in the first half of 2024 compared to last year, which was a record year), as noted by local authorities. Given the increase in water consumption during the summer, there is concern that the island’s water supply network (which relies on desalination) will be able to provide a sustainable and adequate service to residents and visitors in the near future.
Pools and gardens in villas and hotels “suck” 70% of water
According to Nikos Karamanes, director of the Paros Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company (in an interview with rosa.gr), 10-15% of the water consumed in Paros during the summer season is discharged into swimming pools. . Swimming pools are not the only or the most important problem when it comes to water waste. The DEVAP director estimates that 60%-70% of the total water consumption in Paros is used to irrigate gardens in villas, airbnbs and hotels.
But when we consider that large swimming pools are usually combined with villas with gardens or luxury tourist facilities, we understand that excessive water consumption and excessive construction are interconnected and mutually nourishing complex.
Citizen initiative Save Parosu
As it proves, using Google’s satellite data citizen initiative Save Parosu Paros is the Aegean island with the largest presence of “swimming tanks” – as the pools are officially called.
In particular, the initiative notes that a simple count of the swimming pools shown on Google maps reveals that their number has already exceeded 1,200 – and they do not yet cover all of Paros, or even Antiparos.
Swimming pools and excessive water consumption
“The sheer number of swimming pools is staggering and highlights an important water consumption issue that many are not fully aware of,” they said.
“The creation of a map showing the number of swimming pools in the Cyclades has been a source of information for us so far. Beyond a simple calculation, the number of pools highlights the areas of the islands most affected by overbuilding and overtourism,” the initiative’s post emphasizes.
This visualization helps identify areas that are at the peak of tourism development and potentially at saturation point.
So, surprisingly, Antiparos has as many pools as Ios, Sifnos and Serifos combined. Paros has the same number of pools as Naxos, Ios, Sifnos, Serifos and Syros combined.
“If we take the number of pools as an indicator of tourism development, it is clear from the map that Paros, given its size, has greatly exceeded its capacity in terms of infrastructure, waste management and water resources. This map is a work in progress and we plan to cover Mykonos next,” the initiative says.
Comparison between islands
The Save Paros initiative says the map was made possible thanks to images taken in autumn 2023 and updated from May 2024 by Google satellite images.
He cautions that while Paros is comprehensively covered, other islands may still have areas with older images, leading to possible inaccuracies. Due to the manual counting process, some pools may have been missed or mistaken for a blue terrace pool. However, these differences are insignificant in an overall comparison between the islands.