The area of Stavros in Akrotiri Chania has been characterized in 1973 as a landscape of special natural beauty, which requires special state protection (Government Gazette 1242/B/1973), something that has not happened in practice, as in the last decades the special environmental characteristics of the area had not been systematically recorded and studied. The mountainous area of the Stavros region is included in the wildlife reserve of Akrotiri. The northern and eastern area of Akrotiri, including the imposing mountain where the film 'Zorbas the Greek' by Michalis Kakogiannis was shot, was proposed for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network in the 1990s. The request was rejected without justification for reasons that were not made known to the public. At the same time, the fact that the protected species of sea turtle Caretta-caretta has been nesting on beaches in the area for decades makes these beaches protected areas. The Natural History Museum of Crete recognises that Pachia Ammos is a nesting area for Caretta Caretta.
The Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company of Chania (DEYAX) has nevertheless decided to build a pumping station for untreated sewage a few meters from the beach of Pachia Ammos and a few meters from the places where the Caretta-caretta make their nests. Pachia Ammos is one of the few remaining clean and untouched beaches on the northern side of the prefecture of Chania and is particularly popular for local and foreign visitors. Apart from being a nesting beach for sea turtles, it is home to the endangered sea lilies (Pancratium maritimum). On the seabed of the area are the precious Posidonia oceanica meadows, which are one of the main oxygen providers on earth especially now that forests have been so severely reduced. Posidonia oceanica are a high priority habitat for conservation across the territory of the EU Member States. The Posidonia oceanica meadows of Stavros have been identified by the autopsies of experts from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) following a request sent by Stavros Environmental Association (S.E.A). According to HCMR among the most important threats to the Posidonia oceanica meadows in Greece are pollution of all kinds (inorganic, organic, chemical, thermal, etc.), any activity that alters the clarity and salinity of the water column, or the hydrological regime of the coastal zone, as well as any kind of mechanical disturbance on the bottom. Pachia Ammos is also home to the last remaining sand dunes in the northern sector of Crete and the beach lies within the air corridor for migratory birds. The Natural History Museum of Crete has pointed out that the area of Stavros Akrotiri is considered particularly important for the avifaunal diversity of Chania and Crete in general, while the area of the sand dunes in particular, together with the wetland section and the watercourses, constitute highly important habitats, providing valuable ecosystem services of great ecological, aesthetic and, by extension, economic value.
Right next to the beach and almost next to the point where the untreated sewage pumping station is being constructed, the path that leads to the ancient aeolianite quarry begins. Recently, one of the few petrified forests in Greece was discovered in Stavros with rare paleontological interest fossilized rhyolite within extensive aeolianites in the area of the ancient quarry. This area is ecologically vulnerable and important. Pachia Ammos is also protected as a bathing beach and is listed in the National Bathing Water Register under Directive 2000/60. Analysis of samples from the area has consistently shown that the water quality is excellent.
According to the technical description of the untreated sewage pumping station, an overflow pipe will lead to the sea! This will be a threat to public health and the wildlife in the area. Two other pumping stations will be built in the area of the Stavros, which will also have overflow pipes leading to the sea, discharging untreated sewage.
Despite the strong reactions of residents and visitors and despite the fact that there was no information and consultation on the location of the specific untreated sewage pumping station and while the Environmental Impact Study for this pumping station has not been given, the work started in December 2022 and the aim is to be completed by the end of 2024. The fact that there has been severe erosion of the coastline over the last 10 years has heightened concerns about the risk of constructing an untreated sewage pumping station at this location. Within a few weeks a very strong opposition movement has been created both in Greece and abroad and more than 72,000 signatures have been collected against the construction of the pumping station at Pachia Ammos. Over 30 environmental organisations and groups have declared their support for the just struggle of residents and visitors, including some of the largest environmental organisations in Greece.
Stavros Environmental Association (S.E.A) and local residents have appealed to the Council of State with a petition to suspend and cancel the project. They have also repeatedly asked the Mayor of Chania to consider the long-standing request to change the location of the untreated sewage pumping station in order to find an immediate solution based on an Environmental Impact Study and in consultation with residents, as required by the Aarhus Convention. Furthermore, the work is being carried out on property of undisputed ownership of the Greek State, without the use of the property being granted to DEYAX for the execution of this project. The area on which the untreated sewage pumping station is being constructed is mapped outside the municipal roads in the area. Regarding the ownership, the Stavros Environmental Association (S.E.A) filed a lawsuit against DEYAX in June 2024 before the Chania Court of First Instance and the case is pending.
Our aim is to achieve a change of location of the untreated sewage pumping station to a sustainable location, based on an Environmental Impact Study. And this in consultation with the residents, as required by the Aarhus Convention.
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residents and visitors are trying to save Pachia
Ammos