- Hersonissos Mayor Zacharias Doxastakis sent a formal letter to the Regional Governor of Crete and nearby mayors demanding urgent water planning.
- Climate pressure, prolonged drought, and growing demand are pushing the island toward a severe water deficit.
- The Aposelemi Dam system no longer covers the needs of the municipalities it serves.
- Tourism growth and the new Kastelli airport make new water resources critical.
- Studies suggest that large volumes of fresh water are available in the Almyros River, which remains underutilized.
- Attica has announced €2.5 billion drought projects — Crete has not.
- Hersonissos alone contributes €45 million annually through the “Resilience and Climate Crisis Fee,” with no resources returned locally.
- Proposal: immediate multi-municipality meeting + preliminary study for a gravity pipeline from Almyros to Aposelemi, potentially funded via the Decarbonization Fund.
Some crises do not arrive with sirens. They come quietly, as a dry tap, a weaker dam, a municipality that starts “rationing” without calling it rationing.
And in Crete, the most dangerous crisis is the one people keep postponing, because postponing is our unofficial island sport.
This week, the Mayor of Hersonissos, Zacharias Doxastakis, decided to stop playing along.
With a written letter sent to the Regional Governor of Crete and to the mayors of neighboring municipalities in Heraklion and Lasithi, Doxastakis calls for immediate and coordinated interventions in the rational management of Crete’s water resources — warning that the island is already under increasing pressure from the climate crisis, prolonged drought, and constantly rising water needs.
In simple words: Crete is running out of water faster than its institutions are running out of excuses.
Aposelemi Dam Was Not a Magic Spell
The letter stresses what locals already know, and tourists do not: Crete’s water system was built for a different era.
Yes, Crete invested in major infrastructure over the past decades, including the Aposelemi Dam and the associated water supply works. But the mayor bluntly notes that the existing system no longer meets the needs of the municipalities it serves.
That matters because Crete is not “just” an island.
Crete is:
- an agricultural machine,
- a tourist powerhouse,
- and now a region is expanding its infrastructure footprint dramatically.
Which leads to the next pressure point.
Tourism, Development, and Kastelli: Water Demand Is Climbing
Doxastakis underscores that Crete’s development trajectory—including tourism growth and the operation of the new Kastelli airport—makes it urgent to secure additional water resources.
And this is where the conversation becomes politically uncomfortable. Because the island’s model has been: build, expand, advertise, sell summer, and hope the water follows.
But water does not follow branding.
Almyros River: The Solution Nobody Dares to Touch
The mayor references scientific studies indicating the potential to use significant quantities of fresh water from the Almyros River — quantities that remain unused to this day.
This is one of those classic Cretan tragedies: we have a possible solution that has already been studied and remains untouched.
Not because it is impossible. Because coordinated decision-making is more complex than drilling a well.
Attica Gets €2.5 Billion, Crete Gets Silence
One of the sharpest points in the letter is not technical. It is political.
Doxastakis notes that in Attica, an extensive drought response program worth €2.5 billion has already been announced.
For Crete? No equivalent plan.
Despite the island’s undeniable contribution to the national economy.
And then comes the number that should make any ministry uncomfortable:
The Municipality of Hersonissos alone contributes €45 million annually through the “Resilience and Climate Crisis Fee”… and yet, according to the mayor, no resources return to the area.
So Crete pays — and stays thirsty.
The Mayor Proposes A United Front, Not Municipal Solo Acts
Instead of vague “calls for action,” Doxastakis offers specific steps:
- The Regional Governor should call an immediate meeting with the mayors of:
- Malevizi
- Heraklion
- Hersonissos
- Agios Nikolaos
- Lasithi Plateau
- The purpose: evaluate existing studies on the Almyros River and build a shared strategy.
- Begin a preliminary/recognition study for a gravity pipeline transferring water from Almyros to Aposelemi Dam — a project that could be financed through the Decarbonization Fund.
This is not romantic. It is engineering. It is also what “serious governance” looks like.
Crete Needs One Big Water Project
The mayor concludes that only through unified planning, documented studies, and joint institutional pressure can Crete secure funding and deliver a flagship project that provides a lasting solution to drought and supports sustainable development.
And he points out something important, almost like a final slap on the table:
Funding tools exist. The resources are available.
Meaning: what is missing is not money.
It is coordination and will.
