The flood prevention project in Spilia seems to be have been moved further down the calendar, with the Technical Services Department of the Ionian Islands Regional Authority proposing to exclude from the Marina contract the sub-project that will save the entire area. The management of DIADEYADK has reacted strongly, saying that residents and shopkeepers are being condemned to enduring daily floods whenever there is a strong downpour.
The negative development in the flood prevention project doesn't seem surprising. The significant delays in the start and execution of the long-awaited project had been reported continuously by Enimerosi throughout the year.
The decisive blow, however, came on November 28th, with a document sent by the Regional Technical Services Department for Corfu to DIADEYADK, proposing the removal of the flood prevention pipeline from the ongoing contract, citing the inability to complete the project within the timeline of the ESPA 2014-2021 (completion by 31-12-2023). The delay was attributed to the lack of information from the side of DIADEYADK regarding the discrepancies found in relation to the project's study.
Strong response from DIADEYADK
However, the response from DIADEYADK did not take long in coming in the form of a letter sent yesterday, 19 December, to the Regional Technical Services Department for Corfu, with copies forwarded to all involved entities (Corfu Port Authority, Regional Special Management Service, Deputy Regional Governors Zorbas and Orfanoudakis). In the letter, DIADEYADK requested the unimpeded continuation of the project.
It stressed that the justifications presented for the project's delay are not valid, as "the lack of knowledge about the depths of the existing shallow pipes that were supposed to contribute to the new pipeline at a much greater depth could not constitute any real obstacle."
What they propose
Furthermore, it is stressed that the non-execution of the flood prevention pipeline project condemns the Spilia area, and efforts should be made to complete the project. If this is not feasible, at the very least, there should be an opportunity to restore the flow of blocked pipes.
"As a last resort, in the event that the time limits of the existing contract are limited to the current year, we consider that a solution would be to open the existing inadequate outlet of the 'Black Cat' pipeline,2.5m wide and 2m high, so that DIADEYADK can divert the pipes to this location until the final solution of the construction of the perimeter of the flood prevention pipeline becomes feasible," they state.
The New Harbour Embankment
However, the letter points out that the area of Spilia has been experiencing floods since the construction of the new harbour embankment, which blocked conduits that directed rainwater to the sea. As they point out, since the Venetian era, there were two large conduits that led rainwater outside the walls to the sea, and they operated as auxiliary to the newer conduits until 2008.
"These conduits were blocked and completely disappeared with the construction of the new embankment. Simultaneously, among the newer conduits, the one from the Spilia Gate (Volto Bonelou) disappeared, and the 'Black Cat' one was strangled with the creation of an inadequate and inappropriate outlet. Since then, Spilia is flooded whenever there is a heavy downpour, and awaits the construction of this conduit that would divert water to the basin of the Marina to be saved from this phenomenon," states the letter, drafted by the Studies Supervision and Project Support Department of DIADEYADK and signed by the President of the Inter-Municipal Enterprise and Mayor of Corfu, Meropi Ydraiou.
Grandiose statements
There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for the residents and shopkeepers in Spilia following recent events. The grandiose statements about a significant project that would definitively solve the serious problem of flooding occurring in the area with every intense rainfall, ultimately went no further than being ust statements, with the fate of the project now remaining unknown.
MARIA BAZDRIYIANNI
