Rhodes Water Dialogues Address Water Scarcity and Flood Risks for Greek Islands

Government officials, local authorities and leading scientists gathered on Rhodes for the inaugural Rhodes | Water Dialogues, organised by the Institute for Water Resources Management & Energy “WE ARE GREECE” and the Technical Chamber of Greece. Participants included Digital Governance Minister Demetris Papastergiou, TEΕ secretary‑general Antonis Giannikouris, Southern Aegean Governor George Chatzimarkos and EU member Dimitris Tsiotras.

The forum highlighted the climate crisis’s impact on water supply and flood exposure across the Aegean and Mediterranean islands, stressing tourism pressure and the need for modern, digital water‑network management. Papastergiou announced a programme to digitise water and wastewater infrastructure, map assets and deploy 120 new weather stations and Greek micro‑satellites funded by a €200 million recovery‑fund package.

EU representatives outlined the new Water Resilience framework, warning that European water demand could exceed supply by 40 % within a decade, calling for faster licensing, desalination technologies and institutional reforms to accelerate flood‑protection projects.