Greece launches National Water Strategy to address water scarcity and overhaul providers

The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy has placed the draft National Water Strategy under a public consultation period. The plan seeks to create a new framework for water management, emphasizing conservation, reuse and digitisation of water services.

The strategy notes that 36.1% of surface water bodies are already at risk and that only 65.4% meet good ecological status. It links water security to public health, food supply and the economy, and highlights delays in updating Water Management Plans and gaps in data and infrastructure.

A central element of the reform is the expanded role of the two largest water utilities, EYDAP and EYATH. Both are slated to take on broader operational responsibilities and to extend their service areas to cover additional regional units in Attica, Boeotia, Phocis, Evia, Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki, as well as irrigation networks in central Greece. The strategy also aims to reduce the fragmentation of Greece’s water sector, which currently includes over 700 providers, and to address pricing gaps where approximately 12% of consumption is unmetered or unbilled.

Overall, the draft strategy calls for stronger institutional capacity, improved coordination among agencies, and increased investment in water infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate‑driven droughts and extreme events.