Water “Day zero” for cities: GWP Mediterranean increases urban water availability

Water “Day zero” for cities? Not for Alexandroupolis, a Mediterranean coastal town

GWP Mediterranean increases urban water availability by 1 year through a holistic intervention. Problems of urban water scarcity have recently received worldwide attention, as water resources in cities like Cape Town in South Africa, and more recently Chennai, India, came close to “Day Zero”. Although not as water-stressed as these cities, Mediterranean coastal towns face critical water challenges, especially with recent studies suggesting that the region is warming 20% faster than the global average, and scarcity in freshwater resources projected to be among the largest in the world.

Faced with such challenges, local authorities in Alexandroupoli, a coastal town in the North of Greece, reached out to GWP-Mediterranean to elaborate on solutions to contribute towards its water security. Of particular concern were the impacts of climate change, with intense rainfalls and prolonged periods of drought, as well as the high risk of salinisation of the coastal aquifers due to intense groundwater pumping, leading also to high energy costs.
GWP-Mediterranean designed the “Water for the City” programme to provide responses by increasing freshwater availability. In partnership with the Alexandroupolis Water Utility and the Municipality, and with the financial support of a $1.2 million grant by The Coca-Cola Foundation, GWP Mediterranean followed a holistic Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus approach. It coupled innovative technical solutions to increase the local water budget and enhanced capacities to manage urban water resources in an integrated manner while building a new water culture, aiming not only to provide solutions for Alexandroupolis, but also to become a paradigm to be replicated in other coastal cities in the Mediterranean and beyond.

To read more about INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS FOR MORE WATER: Click here

Contact information	n/a
News type	Inbrief
File link	https://www.gwp.org/en/GWP-Mediterranean/WE-ACT/News-List-Page/water-day-zero-for-cities-not-for-alexandroupolis-a-mediterranean-coastal-town/
Source of information	gwp.org
Subject(s)	POLICY-WATER POLICY AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Geographical coverage	Greece,
News date	02/09/2020
Working language(s)	ENGLISH

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