ASSESING WATER QUALITY

The Archipelagos laboratory is undertaking analyses of both marine and fresh water samples, defining the content of microbes, nutrients and other chemical compounds. The aim is to assess the safety of local potable water and groundwater, as well as swimming waters, in order to protect human health as well as the environment. Where contamination/pollution is detected, Archipelagos collaborates with and informs relavant authorities (local, national and/or EU) for the development and application of appropriate measures, while local communities are also being informed.

Drinking water and Groundwater

Archipelagos provides analyses of drinking water on various islands of the Aegean, giving special focus to the islands where there does not exist regular monitoring by national authorities. In most places, drinking water can originate from several different sources, and hence there can be a risk of pollution caused by nearby anthropogenic activities and also from the natural erosion of rocks (e.g., arsenic can naturally erode from certain types of magmatic or sedimentary rocks, posing a danger to human health). On small islets and islands of the Aegean where the water resources are limited and where potable water is transported to people via water tankers, the quality of the water can differ with each shipment of water delivered. Hence, local communities are unsure of the safety of their water for drinking purposes and frequently buy bottled water as a precaution, (which apart from being costly and adding more plastic waste to the environment, is also of questionable quality, since it is frequently transported under summer hot conditions).

The Archipelagos laboratory provides island local communities with water quality analyses in order to ensure them that they have free, safe access to dinking water. In addition, in regions where there is potential contamination of groundwater, this water is also being analysed. When sources of pollution are detected, Archipelagos collaborates with local, national and EU authorities in order to eliminate them.

Swimming waters

The safety of marine and swimming waters is also regularly analysed in the Archipelagos laboratory with samples taken from several parts of the Greek seas. In a large part of the Greek coastline, such samples are not regularly collected by national authorities, and even when tests are conducted by national authorities, results on the safety levels of the swimming waters are not made known to the local communities and tourists. The Archipelagos laboratory supplies data on swimming water quality at various beaches and informs local authorities, communities and visitors whether and which waters are safe for them and their children for swimming.

The Archipelagos laboratory provides analyses of water samples for the following parameters:

a.Chemical parameters: Arsenic, Magnesium Hardness, Calcium Hardness, Iodine, Free and total Chlorine, Dissolved Oxygen, Iron, Copper, Ammonia, Phosphate, Phosphorus, Nitrate, Nitrite, Manganese, Aluminum, Bromine, Chlorine Dioxide, Chromium, Cyanide, Cyanic Acid, Fluoride, Hydrazine, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silica, Silver, and Zinc.

b.Microbiological Parameters: Total coliforms, E. coli and Enterococci

In the Archipelagos laboratory, the chemical water analyses are carried out using the photometric method (certification ISO 9001: 2000) and a Digital Arsenator (certification ISO 9001: 2000). The microbiological analyses are carried out IDEXX Colilert-18/ Quanti-Tray®: ISO 9308-3 (E. coli).