I was just at Ammos Beach in Agios Nikolaos. Seriously. I was there with Manos, Liliana, and Phil, and we definitely noticed the outfall near the marina. When you see a pipe discharging liquid into the sea at a popular beach, your first thought isn’t “Ah, pristine alpine spring water.”
So, when the municipality dropped a highly bureaucratic press release about it today, I had to read it twice to see if they were actually addressing what we were looking at.
The Agios Nikolaos Water and Sewerage Enterprise (DEYAAN) launched an investigation about 20 days ago after receiving complaints. Their official verdict after weeks of “thorough investigation”?
It’s not sewage.
According to the report, the pipe in question is a stormwater drain. It collects runoff from several nearby streets (Aktis Atlantidos, Idomeneos, Kontogianni, etc.). The municipality explicitly notes that, by design, this pipe also collects water from residents cleaning their courtyards and balconies.
DEYAAN’s crews traced the lines and confirmed there is zero cross-contamination with the actual sewage network. They also stated that during their inspections, they “did not detect any particular bad odor or characteristic smell indicating sewage.”
Technical Details
To be fair to the engineers, they did their homework. They mapped the stormwater network, confirmed the sewage lines are intact, and even found and fixed a couple of broken drinking water pipes in the immediate area. They admit they are still hunting for one tiny, elusive drinking water leak, but they swear the sea is not being hit with raw wastewater.
Officially, Ammos Beach is fine. There is no raw sewage.
But let’s be real: if you’re sitting by the marina and see a pipe dumping liquid into the sea, you don’t care if it’s from a sewer or someone’s soapy driveway. It’s still urban runoff.
Argophilia takeaway: The water quality isn’t in a state of emergency, but if you’re swimming near the marina outfall, maybe don’t open your mouth. Stick to the sunbeds, enjoy the beautiful marina views, and let DEYAAN finish hunting down that last tiny water leak.
