Dissolution of DIADEYAK and water supply issues in central and south Corfu

My first article from Corfu in Rizospastis, 39 years ago, was prompted by a report from a public assembly in Lefkimmi and titled: ‘Lefkimmi wants roads and water’. More or less, a similar article today could bear exactly the same title—at least as far as water is concerned.

Even though the resigned mayor of South Corfu, Vassilis Himariotis, recently visited the Minister of Environment, Papastavrou, accompanied by the regional governor, Yiannis Trepeklis, to discuss the dire water sufficiency situation in the area, which persists regardless of weather and rainfall.

No matter how much rhetorical support is offered by the mayors of Corfu and the rest of the Ionian Islands, the result stubbornly remains zero.

A telling example is the fate of the desalination unit that the contractor retrieved from the port of Lefkimmi, where it had been left idle for eight whole months. It was never powered with electricity and of course was never connected to the water supply network. As if that weren’t enough, rumour has it that parts of its mechanism were removed over time (have there been complaints or lawsuits?), and for that reason primarily, the provider decided to withdraw it.

Similar stagnation can be seen in the case of the Moschopoulos reservoir, which, like the bridge of Arta, was built during the day and collapsed by night. In any case, it’s not functioning, and as a result, a bleak summer is expected in terms of water supply for the wider region—a blow to the lives of locals and the area's tourism.

And all this despite statements of support for the mayor’s struggle and the threatened mass resignation of the municipal council majority party. On the Monday after next, May 12 of this blessed year 2025, the Committee that will divide the assets of the inter-municipal DEYAK will begin its work, following the declared intention of the otherwise 'solidarity-minded' central Municipality to open its own shop—just as Mahimaris was the first to do.

Among the assets to be divided is the VAT number of DIADEYAK. Will the remaining southern partner keep it? Will the central municipality take it, as it held it even before the inter-municipal utility was founded? Perhaps it matters little, since greater importance lies in the ability to manage water resources. Let us recall that the dam project was once again postponed indefinitely—to the glory of local institutions and their many parliamentary and ministerial representatives.

In the political background of this complete failure lies the pressure felt by government MP and cabinet member Stefanos Gikas, who perhaps because of this remained in Corfu even after the (non-)strike of May Day. It's said he is furious with the southern municipal authorities for not responding to his assistance. Still, as was aptly noted, Gikas was excluded from the meeting between Trepeklis, Himariotis, and Papastavrou. Voluntarily? Was he not invited? It hardly matters.

The dissolution of the inter-municipal partnership is also due to the Environment Ministry’s failure to provide incentives to preserve it. On the contrary, through its formalistic handling of the support process for municipalities facing drought, it managed to let the dead winter season pass in vain, while the problems remain very much alive as another tourist season begins.

As for the central municipality and the fragmented management of DIADEYAK, the aim now is to change the purpose of an already contracted but unfunded (!) project in Chrysiida—from water softening to desalination. It is hoped that this will contribute 15,000 cubic metres daily to the town’s water supply!

And what about the leaky network, where half the water is lost no matter its source, someone might ask? The optimistic answer is that the remaining central DEYAK has a way to absorb the €1.6 million (finally!) in funding and use it to replace large sections of the faulty network, minimising (hopefully?) the losses.

Meanwhile, in the South, whatever promises are made now—even for emergency funding—will hardly meet the urgent needs.

GIORGOS KATSAITIS