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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WATER65 hm 3 while 6.2 hm 3 is for livestock, 440 hm 3 for agriculture, 0.9hm 3 for olive mills and 3.2 hm 3 for industrial purposes. Around thehalf (46 per cent) of the total water requirement is requested bythe Irakleion prefecture. The available water volume on an annualbasis is estimated to be 372 hm 3 , leaving a water deficit of about143 hm 3 . Increased water demand for agricultural use on the island,(approximately 85 per cent of water use) cannot always be met. 10Great efforts have been made to promote rational use of water bythe agricultural sector, even though irrigated water exceeds 500 mmannually (a mean rate for agriculture).Groundwater resources in Crete are overexploited, especially inthe Messara aquifer in South Irakleion where an estimated 51 hm 3of water is extracted each year, exceeding aquifer yield by 10 hm 3 . 11Nowadays water needs are covered by a dense network of pipes thattransfer water from springs, reservoirs and groundwater bodies tovillages and coastal cities. For instance in the Rethimno prefecturethe Potami dam, with a reservoir capacity of 23 hm 3 , covers theirrigation needs of the Amari valley. A substantial amount of wateris reused and becomes available for agricultural and urban needs.Eight of the 18 domestic wastewater treatment plants in Crete reusewater to satisfy agricultural water needs. In addition, during recentyears, desalination technology has started to be used for obtainingsmall quantities of water for domestic supply, although this is recognizedas a very expensive solution.Issues of water management, spatial planning and agriculture werehistorically administered by distinct organizational bodies such asthe Eastern Crete Development Organization and the Western CreteDevelopment Organization, the municipalities, water associationsand several local land reclamation services without any cooperationbetween them. The main problem was that the western partof the island experiences water surplus and the eastern part suffersfrom water deficit, but the administrative structures were not organizedin a way that allowed water transfer from the one part of theisland to the other. Many environmental problems have arisen dueto water deficit, such as seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifer,river dryness, lowering of groundwater levels in many valleys, andThe main springs in Crete and their maximum recorded dischargeSource: IGME, Water Points Recording – Crete Water District (2009)related ecological problems such as the loss of endemicbiodiversity and increased salinity of fresh water. Cretanwetlands are currently under threat due to overexploitationof water resources. Coastal marshes in particularare endangered as a result of the expansion of urbanand touristic settlements. 12 In order to minimize thewater shortage problem, effective cooperation is necessaryamong the different water use sectors, as well asamong the communities which belong to differentbasins. Especially in cases where hydraulic works haveto be conducted for transferring water from one regionto another, approaches are needed to convince the localcommunities involved.In the past, environmental issues arising fromwater management were not acknowledged as themain responsibility of any water-related organization.However, the adoption of the European UnionWater Framework Directive in national legislationushered in the creation of water districts. Crete isrecognized as WD13 and the responsibility for watermanagement belongs to the Water Department of theDecentralized Administration of Crete. The preparationof river basin management plans and suggestedprogrammes of measures are under public consultationat the time of writing, especially actions focusedon preventing drought, which Crete faces quite often,and flood. Public participation is a prerequisite in allstages of management plan creation, so all interestedparties are actively involved. Even water authoritieswhich were inexperienced in participatory andcooperative forms of governance have supervisedseveral stakeholder groups. The main outcome ofthis participatory process has been effective linkagesbetween the various water use sectors. Some forms ofinteraction and cooperation were generated betweenassociations managing irrigation water and publicwater supply services. Public awareness resultedin a deeper understanding of water issues, 13 allowingwater allocation from the west to the east partof Crete. Current policies identify the maintenanceof domestic and municipal water supply as the firstpriority, followed by agricultural needs. Perennialcrops are the first priority of the agricultural sector,ahead of seasonal vegetables.Towards sustainable managementCrete is moving towards the sustainable managementof existing water resources with the aim of achievingmaximum yields and optimal utilization. Balancingdemand and supply is an important goal in light of thelimited available resources and growing demand in theurban and touristic sectors. Measures such as managedaquifer recharge, village connections to wastewatertreatment plants, river ecological flow, erosion eliminationand flood control should be taken to preventecological problems. Cooperation among the differentwater use sectors and the communities which belong todifferent basins will help to minimize the water shortageproblem.[ 285 ]