The contrast between a collective irrigation infrastructure and the individual exploitation of groundwater reveals the growing tensions surrounding water management in the Argos plain. The Anavalos Canal, the backbone of local irrigation, stretches for over 100 kilometers and supplies nearly 17,000 hectares of crops. Its operation relies on complex engineering: water, originating from a karst river in the Arcadian mountains, is captured at the Kiveri Dam before being pumped to a height of 40 meters, passing through the mountain via a pipeline, and then flowing back down naturally along the slope of the plain. A storage and redistribution system is organized around this network. Seven large reservoirs are located along the main branch, supplemented by some fifty secondary reservoirs, for a total capacity of 161,600 m³. The Mýloi basin, the largest, alone holds 26,600 m³. Redistribution stations then allow the water to be conveyed directly to farms.
But this infrastructure is now showing worrying signs of aging. The Kiveri dam has a major failure that is causing salinization of the distributed water. This phenomenon has direct consequences on the soil and agricultural yields. The losses observed in the Myloi basin and other sections of the network are exacerbating the situation: once able to slow the advance of salt, these leaks are now contributing to its permanent establishment in the plain.
Alongside this system, many farmers have turned to pumping groundwater. Wells and boreholes have proliferated throughout the region, particularly in response to increasingly frequent droughts. However, this strategy is also proving problematic. The intensive exploitation of aquifers far exceeds their natural recharge capacity. To maintain access to water, boreholes must be drilled ever deeper, significantly increasing installation and operating costs. To make these investments more manageable, farmers often form family or neighborhood associations. Despite this, profitability remains uncertain, if not impossible, due to the continued decline in groundwater levels.
"Outside town, in fields dried by two years of drought, farmers dig up to 300 metres below the surface in search of water. It often comes up too salty because sea water has seeped into depleted underground aquifers." "Every drop of water is indispensable... We pin our hopes on rainy winters,"
In addition to these economic difficulties, there is a worrying decline in water quality. The intensive use of pesticides leads to massive nitrate infiltration into aquifers. Combined with the progressive salinization linked to overexploitation, this pollution renders the water unfit for consumption and permanently weakens local resources. Thus, the Argos plain finds itself caught between two systems in crisis: an aging public infrastructure and individual reliance on groundwater, which accelerates its depletion. This twofold situation highlights the urgent need for sustainable and coordinated water management, the only way to preserve both agriculture and the region's natural resources.