Harnessing Hadrian’s heritage: Athens taps into ancient Roman aqueduct to turn down the heat
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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00:00Extremely hot and there's not very little shade. I have to use a towel and I'm drinking
00:04a lot of water.
00:06These tourists aren't alone in suffering from the extreme heat in Athens. Cooling the Greek
00:11capital and saving water has become a top priority, especially given that this part
00:15of Europe is one of the fastest warming places on earth.
00:19One idea to address this is to tap into the city's ancient Roman aqueduct. That should
00:23exploit an unused water resource to create more green spaces.
00:27Oh my goodness. Wow, it's so cramped.
00:36Built nearly 2,000 years ago, Hadrian's aqueduct flows into the heart of Athens. Most of the
00:42ancient structure, like this part in the municipality of Hellandry, lies underground. Christos is
00:48showing me inside.
00:50Oh, it's cooler down here.
00:53Okay, here we are. Wow.
00:57So this was the main reservoir that was used to filter the water and clean the water.
01:03Where does the water come from?
01:05The Hadrian aqueduct hasn't got an obvious spring to carry the water to somewhere else.
01:11It soaks the water from the ground along its route. And this is important because the more
01:17you use the water, then the water returns. You enrich the water resource that we use.
01:23And why is this project important in the larger context?
01:27The Hadrian aqueduct, because it's still functioning, it still carries water that now goes wasted
01:31in the sea. When the new non-potable water pipelines start working, we're going to be
01:37saving 80,000 cubic meters per year.
01:41Athens is one of Europe's hottest and most densely built cities. In summer, there's a
01:46marked heat island effect. The extra water will help to irrigate green spaces like this
01:52and bring down temperatures. At the aqueduct's central reservoir, Yorgos tells me the project
01:58is also seeking to encourage a change in people's habits, so less water is wasted.
02:04Oh, wow. It's huge.
02:06The ultimate goal of the project is to create a culture in Athens. We want more green spaces
02:14and less waste of potable water for non-potable uses. And this project is just the beginning
02:22of a long strategy for that.
02:25A strategy that's already spreading its reach.
02:29There are plans to expand in the other boroughs of Athens that the Hadrian aqueduct runs.
02:35But also, we have started a collaboration with another five, six cities in Europe that
02:42combine cultural heritage with water heritage in order to make more green, sustainable
02:48and livable cities.
02:50That's it for this episode. See you soon for more Water Matters.