Greece's Environment and Energy Ministry has launched an emergency 15-million-euro programme to combat severe water shortages across nine island municipalities, as intensifying summer droughts strain local supplies during the peak tourist season.
Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou finalised the funding package Wednesday, approving 10 infrastructure projects to repair ageing distribution networks, curb water leaks and build new desalination capacity.
The initiative spans the Cyclades, Dodecanese, Sporades, Ionian and Cretan island groups, aiming to stabilise drinking water supplies as visitor numbers swell.
Under the plan, new desalination facilities will be installed on Astypalea and Leros, with supporting desalination works on Alonnisos.
The funding will also finance pipeline upgrades and new network construction on Naxos, Rhodes, Skopelos and Viannos, a primary water storage reservoir on Amorgos, and a dedicated drinking water treatment facility on Zakynthos.
"This is not a fragmented intervention," Mr. Papastavrou said. "It is part of a comprehensive policy for responsible water resource management, focusing on areas facing the greatest climate pressures."
Mr. Papastavrou said the funding follows closely on the unveiling of Greece's new National Water Strategy, now open for public consultation, and that the government is preparing legislation to reform the country's fragmented water utility sector by consolidating local providers and improving long-term infrastructure efficiency.
The initiative, backed by Maritime and Island Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias, marks an aggressive step to shield island economies from worsening groundwater depletion and erratic rainfall patterns affecting the wider Mediterranean region — a climate trend with direct consequences for the tourism revenue many of these islands depend on.