Summary

The Environmental Committee of the Region of Crete has issued a positive opinion on the environmental licensing of a new wastewater treatment plant for Almyrida and surrounding villages, marking a significant step in the approval process. The project, budgeted at €14,714,128, includes approximately 27 kilometres of sewer network, nine pumping stations, and a modern treatment facility serving Almyrida, Plaka, Kokkino Chorio, Aspro, and Kampia. The plant is designed for an initial capacity of 4,800 population equivalents, with the option to expand to 6,200.

Almyrida wastewater project clears environmental review

The Environmental Committee of the Region of Crete has issued a positive opinion on the environmental licensing of a new wastewater treatment plant for Almyrida — a significant procedural milestone for a project that has been long awaited along this stretch of the Apokoronas coastline.

What the project involves

With a total budget of €14,714,128, the scheme is one of the largest infrastructure investments planned for the area. Its main components are:

Sewer network: approximately 27,195 metres

Pumping stations: nine wastewater lift stations

Treatment plant: modern activated sludge system with extended aeration

Effluent disposal: both onshore and submarine pipelines for treated wastewater

Initial capacity: 4,800 population equivalents, expandable to 6,200

Which villages are covered

The system is designed to serve five coastal settlements: Almyrida, Plaka, Kokkino Chorio, Aspro, and Kampia. These communities, which see significant visitor numbers during the summer months, currently lack a centralised modern wastewater system.

Why this matters

The absence of a functioning wastewater network has long raised concerns about sea water quality and groundwater protection along this part of the coast. A modern treatment plant would reduce the environmental pressure on the marine ecosystem and the local water table — both of which have a direct bearing on public health and on the area's appeal as a tourist destination.

What happens next

The positive environmental opinion is a necessary step in the licensing process, but not yet a construction permit. The Municipality of Apokoronas has stated it intends to continue the process through to full implementation. No construction start date or completion timeline was given in the announcement.

PRESS RELEASE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF APOKORONAS – Positive Opinion for the Almyrida Wastewater Treatment Plant, Budget €14,714,128

February 25, 2026, 1:56 PM

As the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, stated, it is with particular satisfaction that we announce the positive opinion of the Environmental Committee of the Region of Crete regarding the environmental licensing of the Almyrida Wastewater Treatment Plant project.

This is a project with a total budget of €14,714,128, constituting a strategic environmental infrastructure for the Municipality of Apokoronas and for the entirety of the developing coastal zone of our area. This decision confirms the completeness, the maturity, and the scientific documentation of the project.

Continuing, the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, stated that the project includes:

– A sewerage network of approximately 27,195 metres in length.

– Nine wastewater pumping stations.

– A modern treatment facility using the activated sludge method with extended aeration.

– An onshore and submarine pipeline for the disposal of treated wastewater.

The unit is designed with an initial capacity of 4,800 population equivalents and the possibility of expansion to 6,200, covering the needs of Almyrida, Plaka, Kokkino Chorio, Aspro, and Kampia.

It is an act of environmental responsibility.

It is an institutional choice to protect the marine ecosystem and the aquifer.

It is an investment in public health and quality of life.

Apokoronas must develop with a plan and infrastructure worthy of its potential. We cannot speak of high-quality tourism and sustainable development without modern sewerage networks and wastewater treatment facilities.

In conclusion, the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, stressed that today's positive opinion constitutes one more decisive step. However, our responsibility does not stop here. We continue with consistency, institutional persistence, and full dedication to the public interest, until the final implementation of the project.

We have a duty to our ancestors who handed down to us a place of unique natural beauty.

We have an even greater duty to the next generations to hand it to them clean, protected, and functional.

The struggle for infrastructure is not circumstantial. It is a permanent responsibility.