An interesting and unknown story
We explore Greece and we discover many interesting and unknown aspects of it. Places and stories we didn’t know and are of particular interest. One such case is also the unknown whirlpool. The whirlpool that almost solved Athens’ water problem. It is an underwater spring near the village of Kiveri in Argolida. Today the locals call it Anavalo. And its story regarding the problem of Athens is interesting.
The waters of Anavalos descend from the mountains to Lake Stymphalia and Tripoli Arcadia. However, it is not water that is considered directly drinkable as the waters of the spring are high in chlorides. This means that it is not drinkable without proper treatment. According to geologist Panagiotis Dodo, “in 1970 one of the world’s few projects to capture clean water from underwater sources from the sea itself was constructed, a semi-circular dam with blinking bays to keep the water level within the dam above sea level”.
The whirlpool and the Athenian problem it was going to solve
As Athens used to deal strongly with the problem of water in 1990, the Mitsotakis Government discussed the possibility that the spring of Anavalos could be used to solve it. There was always the choice of Mornos, but at the time it was empty and the result was to reveal the villages that had been covered. Also, a temporary but also costly solution was given by the Evin river. So the idea of using the waters of the whirlpool in this way did not go ahead and was never implemented in the future.
But the waters of The Anavalos didn’t go to waste. They “watered” the valley of Argolida. Now, the whirlpool provides water for irrigation through pipelines of a total length of 80 km. The data of the G.O.E.B. of Argonautlias indicate that the source serves more than 50,000 acres.
Seeing the landscape from above, you’re impressed. The remaining waters are poured with force into the sea. So millions of cubic meters of water are lost. Watch the video from youtube’s Haanity channel.
