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Harnessing Hadrian’s heritage: Athens taps into ancient Roman aqueduct to turn down the heat
euronews (in English)
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1 year ago
Athens is no stranger to blistering heat, but faced with soaring summer temperatures the city is tapping into its ancient Roman engineering to create more green spaces. Water Matters journeyed underground to learn more.
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00:00
Extremely hot and there's not very little shade. I have to use a towel and I'm drinking
00:04
a lot of water.
00:06
These tourists aren't alone in suffering from the extreme heat in Athens. Cooling the Greek
00:11
capital and saving water has become a top priority, especially given that this part
00:15
of Europe is one of the fastest warming places on earth.
00:19
One idea to address this is to tap into the city's ancient Roman aqueduct. That should
00:23
exploit an unused water resource to create more green spaces.
00:27
Oh my goodness. Wow, it's so cramped.
00:36
Built nearly 2,000 years ago, Hadrian's aqueduct flows into the heart of Athens. Most of the
00:42
ancient structure, like this part in the municipality of Hellandry, lies underground. Christos is
00:48
showing me inside.
00:50
Oh, it's cooler down here.
00:53
Okay, here we are. Wow.
00:57
So this was the main reservoir that was used to filter the water and clean the water.
01:03
Where does the water come from?
01:05
The Hadrian aqueduct hasn't got an obvious spring to carry the water to somewhere else.
01:11
It soaks the water from the ground along its route. And this is important because the more
01:17
you use the water, then the water returns. You enrich the water resource that we use.
01:23
And why is this project important in the larger context?
01:27
The Hadrian aqueduct, because it's still functioning, it still carries water that now goes wasted
01:31
in the sea. When the new non-potable water pipelines start working, we're going to be
01:37
saving 80,000 cubic meters per year.
01:41
Athens is one of Europe's hottest and most densely built cities. In summer, there's a
01:46
marked heat island effect. The extra water will help to irrigate green spaces like this
01:52
and bring down temperatures. At the aqueduct's central reservoir, Yorgos tells me the project
01:58
is also seeking to encourage a change in people's habits, so less water is wasted.
02:04
Oh, wow. It's huge.
02:06
The ultimate goal of the project is to create a culture in Athens. We want more green spaces
02:14
and less waste of potable water for non-potable uses. And this project is just the beginning
02:22
of a long strategy for that.
02:25
A strategy that's already spreading its reach.
02:29
There are plans to expand in the other boroughs of Athens that the Hadrian aqueduct runs.
02:35
But also, we have started a collaboration with another five, six cities in Europe that
02:42
combine cultural heritage with water heritage in order to make more green, sustainable
02:48
and livable cities.
02:50
That's it for this episode. See you soon for more Water Matters.
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