Sustainable Use of Water in the Aegean Islands

Journal of Environmental Management 90 (2009) 2601–2611

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Sustainable use of water in the Aegean Islands
Petros Gikas a, b, c, d, *,1, 2, George Tchobanoglous a,1
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Davis, One Shields Avenue, Engineering III, Davis, CA 95616, USA Hellenic Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, General Secretariat of Public Works, Special Service of Public Works for Greater Athens Sewerage and Sewage Treatment, Varvaki 12, Athens 11474, Greece c Hellenic Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, Central Water Agency, Patission 147, Athens 11251, Greece d Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania 17300, Greece b a

a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history: Received 24 July 2008 Received in revised form 27 December 2008 Accepted 21 January 2009 Available online 24 February 2009 Keywords: Water reclamation Water reuse Wastewater Water recourses management Desalination Water importation Water economics

a b s t r a c t
Water demands in the Aegean Islands have increased steadily over the last decade as a result of a building boom for new homes, hotels, and resorts. The increase in water demand has resulted in the disruption of past sustainable water management practices. At present, most freshwater needs are met through the use of the limited groundwater, desalinated seawater, and freshwater importation. Wastewater reclamation, not used extensively, can serve as an alternative source of water, for a variety of applications now served with desalinated and imported water. Three alternative processes: desalination, importation, and water reclamation are compared with respect to cost, energy requirements and longterm sustainability. Based on the comparisons made, water reclamation and reuse

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