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The Development of the Athens Water Supply System and Inferences for Optimizing the Scale of Water Infrastructures

Author

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  • G.-Fivos Sargentis

    (Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Development, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 157 80 Zographou, Greece)

  • Romanos Ioannidis

    (Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Development, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 157 80 Zographou, Greece)

  • Georgios Karakatsanis

    (Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Development, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 157 80 Zographou, Greece)

  • Stavroula Sigourou

    (Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Development, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 157 80 Zographou, Greece)

  • Nikos D. Lagaros

    (Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Development, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 157 80 Zographou, Greece)

  • Demetris Koutsoyiannis

    (Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources Development, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 157 80 Zographou, Greece)

Abstract

Modern organized societies require robust infrastructures, among which hydraulic projects, such as water supply and drainage systems, are most important, particularly in water-scarce areas. Athens is a unique example because it is a big city (population 3.7 million) located in a very dry area. In order to support the development of the city, large hydraulic projects had to be constructed during its history and, as a result, Athens currently has one of the largest water supply systems in the world. Could Athenians choose smaller scale infrastructures instead? Analyzing social, technical and economical historical data, we can see that large capital investments were required. In order to evaluate these investments this paper presents a technical summary of the development. An economic analysis displays historical values of these investments in present monetary values. The cost of existing infrastructure is compared to the cost of constructing smaller reservoirs and a model is created to correlate the price of water and the cost of water storage with the size of reservoirs. In particular, if more and smaller reservoirs were built instead of the large existing ones, the cost of the water would significantly increase, as illustrated by modelling the cost using local data.

Suggested Citation

  • G.-Fivos Sargentis & Romanos Ioannidis & Georgios Karakatsanis & Stavroula Sigourou & Nikos D. Lagaros & Demetris Koutsoyiannis, 2019. "The Development of the Athens Water Supply System and Inferences for Optimizing the Scale of Water Infrastructures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:9:p:2657-:d:229603
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sophia Lazaretou, 2005. "Greek Monetary Economics in Retrospect: The Adventures of the Drachma," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 34(3), pages 331-370, November.
    2. Tribe, M. A. & Alpine, R. L. W., 1986. "Scale economies and the "0.6 rule"," Engineering Costs and Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 271-278, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. G.-Fivos Sargentis & Nikos D. Lagaros & Giuseppe Leonardo Cascella & Demetris Koutsoyiannis, 2022. "Threats in Water–Energy–Food–Land Nexus by the 2022 Military and Economic Conflict," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Xingwei Li & Jianguo Du & Hongyu Long, 2020. "Understanding the Green Development Behavior and Performance of Industrial Enterprises (GDBP-IE): Scale Development and Validation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-23, March.
    3. G.-Fivos Sargentis & Panos Defteraios & Nikos D. Lagaros & Nikοs Mamassis, 2022. "Values and Costs in History: A Case Study on Estimating the Cost of Hadrianic Aqueduct’s Construction," World, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-27, April.
    4. Avgi Vassi & Konstantina Siountri & Kalliopi Papadaki & Alkistis Iliadi & Anna Ypsilanti & Efthimios Bakogiannis, 2022. "The Greek Urban Policy Reform through the Local Urban Plans (LUPs) and the Special Urban Plans (SUPs), Funded by Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-22, August.
    5. G.-Fivos Sargentis & Theano Iliopoulou & Stavroula Sigourou & Panayiotis Dimitriadis & Demetris Koutsoyiannis, 2020. "Evolution of Clustering Quantified by a Stochastic Method—Case Studies on Natural and Human Social Structures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-22, September.
    6. G.-Fivos Sargentis & Demetris Koutsoyiannis & Andreas Angelakis & John Christy & Anastasios A. Tsonis, 2022. "Environmental Determinism vs. Social Dynamics: Prehistorical and Historical Examples," World, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-32, June.
    7. G.-Fivos Sargentis & Paraskevi Siamparina & Georgia-Konstantina Sakki & Andreas Efstratiadis & Michalis Chiotinis & Demetris Koutsoyiannis, 2021. "Agricultural Land or Photovoltaic Parks? The Water–Energy–Food Nexus and Land Development Perspectives in the Thessaly Plain, Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    8. David Markantonis & G.-Fivos Sargentis & Panayiotis Dimitriadis & Theano Iliopoulou & Aimilia Siganou & Konstantina Moraiti & Maria Nikolinakou & Ilias Taygetos Meletopoulos & Nikos Mamassis & Demetri, 2023. "Stochastic Evaluation of the Investment Risk by the Scale of Water Infrastructures—Case Study: The Municipality of West Mani (Greece)," World, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, January.
    9. Lilian Ding & Qiyao Li & Jianjun Tang & Jiangfei Wang & Xin Chen, 2019. "Linking Land Use Metrics Measured in Aquatic–Terrestrial Interfaces to Water Quality of Reservoir-Based Water Sources in Eastern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-17, September.

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