The Saronic Gulf island of Aegina has been declared under a civil protection state of emergency following a two-month disruption to its primary water supply that has left thousands of residents dependent on unsafe alternatives.
The General Secretariat for Civil Protection approved the municipality's urgent request after the undersea pipeline connecting the island to the mainland’s fresh water network suffered critical damage in mid-December.
The emergency status will remain in force until May 11, 2026.
The declaration allows local authorities to bypass standard bureaucratic hurdles, accelerating administrative and financial procedures to restore the flow of potable water.
For the island’s 13,000 permanent residents, the pipeline failure has triggered a public health concern.
With the main supply cut, the municipality reverted to pumping from local boreholes. However, recent chemical and microbiological analyses revealed the well water contains high levels of salinity and contaminants, rendering it unfit for human consumption.
Reports indicate residents have suffered skin and eye irritations from using the water for bathing, while households and businesses have been forced to rely on expensive bottled water.
The pipeline, a €23 million infrastructure project completed recently to solve the island's chronic water scarcity, has faced repeated operational challenges.
Authorities are now racing to repair the rupture before the start of the crucial summer tourism season.