How do the Greek islands get fresh water?

Traditionally, the Greeks used cisterns and wells for fresh water needs. Today, about 40 percent of Greece's fresh water comes from underground wells. The rest is produced by desalination plants, although they are expensive to operate and generally considered unsustainable.



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Many of the large hotels use water produced by the reverse osmosis plants so that their guests can enjoy an abundance of fresh water – you can imagine that a hotel would be a big water user.

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Unfortunately, in the vast majority of accommodations, cafes, bars, shops and restaurants, the answer is “yes, it is true!” Much of Greece's sewage systems was installed during the 1930's and 1940's (by the British) using small bore pipe-work that simply cannot cope with paper waste.

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Instead, the majority of the tap water comes from ocean water that has been run through a desalination plant to make it safe for human consumption. Technically, Santorini's tap water is safe to drink. However, it's also brackish, and the water supply system itself isn't always reliable.

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Greek sewage pipes are much narrower than US or British pipes, and therefore can't handle paper or any other items as it will easily clog them. This is because the infrastructure and sewerage system are much older.

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Do You Pay for Public Bathrooms in Greece? Public restrooms in Greece cost money (around 50 cents). Most restrooms are fairly clean, but many of the toilets don't have seats so you'll need to squat over them. To be safe, I recommend carrying around some hand sanitizer in case the bathroom you visit doesn't have soap!

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Small island water supplies typically originate from groundwater, surface water where available, desalination of ocean water, or rainwater harvesting in limited amounts (Holding and Allen, 2016).

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If its shallow and a short distance to the mainland, the owner can pay to have wires run on poles to their island. If its too deep or too far or simply too costly, then there are antennas for broadcast TV and internet satellite and satellite TV and generators and solar stations to make their own power.

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