by
Göran Svanborg, Kalamitsi, Kythira
For the past 14 years, I have been driving my
tractor and trailer up and down the mountain where we live, to collect water in
a 1 tonne plastic tank. This consumes a lot of time, energy and fuel. Our house
is high on a hillside, outside the seaside village
of Aghia Pelagia, in the north-east of
Kythira Island. Five years ago the track to our
house was cemented, however the municipality does not provide us with the
services of water, electricity, sewage or rubbish collection. With careful
planning we are self sufficient in wind generated energy but, without rain
between April and September, our home reservoir is insufficient for our
household and garden needs.
We aim to be self-sufficient in our garden by
growing as many fruit and vegetables as we can. But it is sad to plant fruit
trees and nurture them through the first part of the summer, only to see them
die in August. Our chickens provide us with eggs, help us recycle waste and
provide us with garden manure.
Two years ago, my wife and I attempted to dig for
water, by hand, without mechanical aids, taking the earth out of the
increasingly deep hole with a bucket and pulley system that we rigged up
ourselves. The first hole was dug to a depth of 13 metres, but it did not
provide water. We tried again, this time a nearby hole of 9 metres which did
not reach water. And, we were unsuccessful with the third, 8 metre hole at yet
another location.
Tired, but determined, we looked at our options:
Our first option would be to hire a mechanical
drilling machine in order to go much deeper. We realised that to do this, still
meant a lottery as far as actually finding water was concerned. It would be a
risk. But, at a cost of approximately €100 per metre, just for the drilling and
then adding the costs of shoring up the hole, sinking a pump, laying pipes and
finishing off the complete system, we felt that this would be an expensive
risk.
Our second option would be to buy a diesel
generator, and electrically powered water pump and install them down the valley
below our house, where a refilling well exists. The capital costs of a large
capacity generator and pump sufficient to bring the water 650 metres whilst
rising 155 metres would also be expensive. Then there would be the ongoing
maintenance and running costs of the generator, not to mention noise pollution
and the adverse environmental impact of such equipment.
Our third idea would be to ask the Mayor of
Kythira to connect us to the public electricity system and then buy a mains
powered pump to send the water up to the house. Again, the cost would be
considerable for the system as before, together with the cost of 6 electricity
poles, a transformer, connection and ongoing electricity bills.
None of these options appealed to us or our
budget. But we had to do something. On the island we are fortunate to have a
number of talented, qualified and skilled young people who specialize in a
variety of fields. One such person is Dr Petros Kominos, an electronic robotics
engineer who is a creative wizard when it comes to problem solving in areas of
energy, automation and IT. In addition, he has a strong commitment to the
earth’s sustainability. After much research, Petros was able to propose the use
of a water pump powered by converted solar energy. This is a new and
revolutionary product, available from a German company. Petros was assured that
the distance for the water to travel and the height to be raised would not be
problems; the pump would run at very high revolutions per minute. It also had
the benefit of being environmentally friendly.
After further investigation of this revolutionary
product, we decided that it was the best option: budget wise, environmentally
and effectively. Petros ordered the goods and was so impressed with the overall
support from the company that he has negotiated for his own company, Kominos Cutting Edge Solutions, to be the sole agent for Greece
for their products.
It was a hard job laying the 650 metres of pipe.
The well needed cleaning and we needed to construct a concrete base for the
solar panels. Petros helped us with this by designing what was necessary.
Throughout this project, few people believed that
a pump with just 2 solar panels could provide enough energy to run a pump
requiring to lift the water we needed. Some people indeed thought us mad, whereas
others simply humoured us.
Eventually the day came. The big package arrived
from Germany
and Petros started to make the connections. The pump is connected directly to
the solar cells without any batteries. The pipe was already in place and, in a
matter of days, we were ready for a test run.
This was indeed an exciting time. Petros told me
that from the second we press the “on-switch” it will take around 20 minutes
and then there will be water in the big water tank placed 650 metres away and
155 metres above the well. After pressing the button I jumped into my car and
drove up to our house and climbed the rest of the distance up to the tank.
We waited, and waited, and waited, for what
seemed an eternity. But, after 20 minutes had passed, I could hear the sound of
water in the pipe. Just seconds later, water came gushing out.
Today we have more than sufficient water for
ourselves and our plants, not to mention the chickens! Also, this will
adequately cope when we have visitors. It is a great sense of achievement. This
has been a giant step forward for us: our system gives us about 4 tonne of
water per day.
After some research we found out that this little
island, Kythira in Greece is
the first place in Europe and the fifth in the
world where such a system exists, and with this height. Of course this will
change in a short while, but it is very satisfying to be part of a team that is
in the forefront of water technology, moving in a positive direction. We live
in a time where many scarce resources are wasted. Water is a scarce resource
and must be treated as such.
We salute Dr Petros Kominos for his research,
ingenuity and engineering skills which have changed our lives considerably,
with minimal impact on the environment. The cost involved for this pioneering
system will be well repaid with additional crops from our gardens and orchards.
Whilst this is on a domestic level with extensive horticulture, there would be
ample opportunities for such systems in commercial horticultural and
agricultural environments.
Kythira will be more and more exploited whether
we like it or not. New hotels, houses, apartments and irrigation systems will
be built. All of them need water for
shower, toilet and general cleaning. The average domestic usage of water is 200
L per day, per person. The average demand for water by tourists increases to
2,000 L (2 tonnes) per day per person when you take into consideration their
extra water needs by going to the beach, eating, having their accommodation
cleaned ready for them, similarly with hire cars, the water usage in providing
food. Water is our scarce resource and we cannot continue, as a community, to
accept the loss of 1,000 tonnes per day which is wasted on average on the
island.
Now is the time to start seriously addressing this
problem at senior political level; for without water – there is no life.
