2nd Press Release on the Wastewater Treatment Plant

The WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plant) was constructed in the years 2014-19, with European funds, during the tenure of former mayor Mr. Stoikos.
At the beginning of 2019, it was completed and ready to operate.
In October 2019, a technical inspection was carried out by an expert hired by the European Commission.
The conclusion of the technical inspection contains the following three recommendations:

• to complete the interventions in the sewage network, in order to stop the inflow of seawater into the network and therefore into the WWTP,
• to complete the takeover of the project by the Municipality,
• to establish a competent WWTP management service.

A fourth could have been included, regarding the method of collecting the sludge produced by the WWTP.
In 2022-2023, during the tenure of former mayor Mr. Pentes, publications were repeatedly released by “Patmos Chronicles” that reported the non-operation or only partial operation of the WWTP, apparently due to the odors in the Chochlaka area.
In May 2023, Hippocampus filed a complaint to the Ministry of Environment and the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court on the issue of the non-operation of the WWTP.
On July 12-13, 2023, a team of inspectors from the Ministry of Environment carried out an on-site inspection of the WWTP. According to a relevant article in the Patmos Chronicles , one day before the inspection, the manager of the WWTP emptied the sludge and sewage that had accumulated in the facility into the sea.
Although Hippocampus had submitted the aforementioned complaint, the audit’s findings were never communicated to us.
The Prosecutor of the Supreme Court sent, in 2023, our complaint to the Prosecutor of Kos, who was only activated just this summer and ordered a preliminary investigation procedure.
Also of interest is the response that our association received from the National Transparency Authority (NTA), to which we had also addressed our report.
We publish the document – response of the NTA:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Following your complaint no. 22087/24-05-2023, which received a unique AFCOS number A/A 756, we would like to inform you of the following:
With its document no. 23521/01-06-2023, the Independent Anti-Fraud Coordination Department of the National Transparency Authority (hereinafter referred to as NTA/AFCOS), forwarded the complaint for investigation to the Special Program Management Service "Environment & Climate Change" and "Civil Protection".
With its document no. 41/27-05-2024, the Special Program Management Service "Environment & Climate Change" and "Civil Protection" forwarded the NTA/AFCOS report no. ΕΜΠ 40/27-05-2024 complaint investigation report, concluding that it constitutes an irregularity that does not involve intent (there are no indications of fraud).
Following the above, your case is considered completed.

Best regards,
Independent Anti-Fraud Coordination Department (AFCOS)
National Transparency Authority
General Directorate of Integrity & Accountability
207 Piraeus & 92 Alkifronos
Athens, 11853
Telephones: +30 2131310452, 429,456, 412, 403
e-mail: gdalo@aead.gr

Conclusions:

• The problem of seawater inflows into the network was already known since 2019 and neither the Pentes municipality nor the Tsampalakis municipality took the appropriate measures to avoid unpleasant developments.
• A proper WWTP management service was never created. During the period 2020-2025, the Municipality concluded short-term contracts with private companies that did not lead to stable management of the WWTP.
• The problem of sludge disposal remains unresolved. As far as we know, no municipality has signed a contract for sludge disposal at the landfill or for transportation elsewhere.

Hippocampus, considering the issue very serious both in terms of marine pollution in the gulf of Chochlaka and in terms of the impacts on public health, addressed itself institutionally, as per its statute, to the competent services, having previously duly and exhaustively – with repeated representations to the municipal authorities of Mr. Pentes and Mr. Tsampalakis – informed the Municipality. Unfortunately, the relevant departments did not respond, despite the seriousness of the issue.
On the contrary, as soon as the media received and publicized the case, the response of the relevant departments’ agents was immediate and strict.
It remains to the judgment of all of us to evaluate what happened – those who took action on the problem and those who remained inactive.