An undersea pipeline supplying potable water to the Saronic Gulf Island of Aegina was reportedly back on line as of Monday, according to Attica Region Governor Nikos Hardalias, two months after initial reports erroneously claimed it had been again targeted by vandals.
Repairs to the pipeline were nevertheless termed as temporary.
The same pipeline has suffered at least three unsolved sabotage attempts before, and in one case was knocked out, although its failure in early February 2024 was subsequently attributed to a shoddy design.
Hardalias himself had filed a criminal report at the time in a mistaken belief that the pipeline had again come under attack – and in a depth that would have required military-style underwater demolition training.
According to reports, the regional authority has pressed the contractor of the project to repair the pipeline.
Aegina is a popular all-year-round destination for urban dwellers in the greater Athens-Piraeus area, lying some 45 kilometers south of the port of Piraeus, and also has a sizable permanent population of residents. What the large Saronic Gulf Island doesn’t have is adequate water resources for household use and irrigation.
The pipeline commences in the nearby island of Salamina.
