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”May Day” Launch for “new WiL!”

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The water-is-life team decided that “May Day” 2024 was the perfect day to launch this new, more interactive “WiL” website because: Our water supply in the Asterousia Mountain and Coastal areas of Crete is shouting “Mayday! Mayday!”
And: On “May Day,” people all over the world celebrate the end of winter and honor workers’ achievements.

Well, over the past nine months, your water-is-life.eu website volunteer team has worked hard on creating this new, updated version of the website. Now, it is ready for you to use and add to! (We welcome your feedback and contributions in the new “Water Talk” blog.)

WiL website volunteers Wendelin Auer (in Cologne, DE) and Gina Billy Kraft (in Papadoyiannis) meet via “Zoom” to put the finishing touches on the new WiL website. Wendelin is the site designer and its “tech wizard,” while Gina leads the website team, heads content creation, and is in charge of the website’s English language version.
WiL volunteer Eleftheria Tsapaki: Eleftheria is a businesswoman working in management in her family’s businesses in Ditikos. In the WiL team, Eleftheria is the specialist for the Greek language version of the website.
WiL volunteer Doris Gabriel: From her home in Tsigounas, Doris works for an international translating company. Doris gladly gives some of her free time to the WiL project and is the team’s expert for its German language version.

Internationally, the word “mayday” is used by aircraft and boat crews to signal “Hello! We’re in trouble! Mayday! Mayday!”

And as the freshwater supply here on “our” part of Crete is calling out loud and clear: “Mayday! Mayday! Help!” – it seems like more and more people are starting to listen.
The critical situation is increasingly in the news. Local and regional governments are discussing putting water restrictions in place (so-called “water usage bans.”)

The Asterousia Mountain and Coastal area of Crete isn’t the only area on Crete (or in Greece) facing severe water shortages. This photo shows the Faneromeni Dam Lake at the southern foot of the Psiloritis in January 2024. Primarily used for agricultural irrigation in Tymbaki, the lake’s level is dangerously low.
  • Read more about it in official media outlets here (in Greek) or here in English.
  • Check out our new “home” section to understand the problem (and listen to the sounds of water a bit. Imagine! Our supply of it is running out!)
  • Go to our new “can dos!” section, give one a try, and share how it worked for you in the new “Water talk” chat.
  • And: Watch for updates here in the news blogs as the temperatures on Crete heat up – and our water supplies keep going down, down, down.

    We hope that each one of us will find new “will” – new willingness to tackle this existential crisis together – and that this website will help us do that.
The village of Tsigkounas has not had fresh, publicly-supplied water for more than ten years now. (The infrastructure was destroyed in a wildfire in 2014.) This photo shows new infrastructure waiting for water to flow to it. Part of the problem: Where should that water come from when wells are running dry?

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