Sunken Village In Shrinking Lake Revealed
If the warming weather and drought conditions in Greece weren’t concerning enough, one of the reservoirs for Athens is losing water at a fairly alarming rate. Though it’s not the first time it’s happened, the re-emergence of the sunken village once hidden under the water signals environmentalists in the country that they may be in for a shortage of water if conditions don’t change. This sunken village was submerged in 1980 and has only appeared once before this, also warning of an extreme drought.
The Sunken Village Of Kallio
The sunken village has been underwater for nearly 45 years, hidden under Lake Mornos in central Greece. The village, known as Kallio, was purposefully flooded back in 1980 to help meet the water demands of the area, specifically the capital of Greece, Athens, located roughly 124 miles away.
To make this lake, residents were forced to leave Kallio and move to other parts of the country. Then, the Mornos Dam was built and the space became a sunken village to create a reservoir, which isn’t altogether an uncommon practice.
From Village To Reservoir
The village was small but well-loved. Those forced to move away were sad to do so, and several decided to stay as close as possible to their own home. The sunken village included somewhere between 60 and 80 homes, orchards, and windmills before the reservoir took over.
The original residents of this sunken village didn’t all move far away from Kallio. Many actually ended up in a location just 1,200 feet above the original, still able to look down at the reservoir holding all of their old memories.
The Result Of A Drought
With the sunken village reemerging from the depths, many thought it would bring back warm memories of their childhood from the previous residents still alive. While it did, it also brought sadness to see their old home looking as it now does.
However, after a winter with little snow, drought, and high heat levels, the lake is losing more and more water every day, revealing the sunken village. June and July 2024 marked the hottest on record, and it was also the warmest winter on record. When paired with a lack of rain and snow, it leads to a pretty alarming situation for Greece.
Not An Imminent Threat To Water Supply
Though it is alarming, it’s not the first time this sunken village has reemerged from the depths once before. It also appeared in the 1990s, during another significant drought, and environmentalists are looking back at history to see what to expect now that Kallio is coming back to the surface.
“If it continues like this, the entire village will appear, all the way to the bottom, where the church and our home was,” Maria Gerodimos, another previous resident of the sunken village, mentioned while talking to Reuters.
This year alone, the reservoir where the sunken village resides has lost 131 feet in water level. Though it’s a warning, there’s no immediate danger to Greek citizens and their water. The Environment and Energy Ministry of Greece is making plans to keep the water levels high for as long as possible, implementing water-saving measures including reducing leaks, using backup reservoirs, and recycling wastewater.
For Now, We Hope For Rain
“It is an alarm bell,” Efthymis Lekkas, a disaster management expert mentioned during an interview with Reuters about the sunken village. “We don’t know what will happen in the coming period. If we have a rainless winter, things will get difficult.”
However, if the drought continues for multiple years, Greece may be forced to rely on extreme regulations to stop from running out of water. It’s estimated that even with water-saving methods, Greece could run out of water in four years if the situation continues and the sunken village makes more of an appearance. And with climate change leading to record high temperatures every year, this situation, even if resolved this time, may make a return sooner than anyone hopes.
Sources: Reuters
