The road to ManaThe old supply system
By Huang He, Mespom 2007-2009
Everyone who goes to visit Sigri should have that excellent guide Sigri: Where the Road Ends. For me, the road of Sigri has never ended. After two weeks from Greece, I miss Sigri so much now and my lovely road of Sigri probably will never stop. But where did I start my road? Water, my story of Sigri starts from the water.
I was quite interested in the old water supply system of Sigri. As an isolated village, the water must be the linchpin of the village. Also as an environmental student, I also hope to know the water future of this cute village.
Hiking towards Mana
So with the map from the Roy Lawrance, my road of Sigri started from searching for the “Mana”. I am not sure if I found exactly the spring water that time, but I know I found something, and the way to search for it was full of interesting.
Finally I found something, not sure it is the old spring. Someone told me I should go deep into the hill. But I could not find the way. Anyway, the process is much more important than the results and I enjoy the hiking quite a lot.
Searching for old fountains
After the Mana, the next stop of my water searching is to find all the three fountains. I was informed that there are three old fountains remained from Turkey periods. So I decided to find them and take pictures of them. For me, it is a hobby like collect coins or stamps. Probably some locals still remember a fatty walked around the village asking for fountains, yes, that was me. And finally, I collected all the sexy pictures of those three fountains.
The old supply system
Thank you so much to the nice jeweler in the village who told me the story and the technology of the system. The old supply system is an excellent project. The water from the spring was pumped first to the top of the hill and then to the tank under the church and the harbor. Yes, right, pump to the top of the hill, without electricity but vacuum. At that time, it must be an talent work. And the work is organized by a great Greek leader.
With the permit of the president of the village and his secretary, I assumed she is the prime minister if the village, we got the change to have a look at the water tank under the church. Even though the tank has been converted to a small museum, we still can find many interesting things there.
I am also very curious of the water supply system now in Sigri. As I know, some water problems happened last year. And the sustainable water supply system is crucial for the future of the village. According to the president, three spring resources are used to supply water for Sigri. The first one is about 5 km away from Sigri with the supply of 180 tons per day. The water is pumped to the tank on the hill first and then runs to the village with gravity; this is the oldest one but with the highest quality. The second and the third one are developed in the last few decades, which can supply 400 tons per day and around 180 tons per day. The new pipe is being built these days to reduce the waste of water and make it more efficient. I should say, the president as well as the prime minister is really nice and smart.
Saving water
Last but not least, both I and Jana are very interested in the finance of the water system. Locals pay for the water twice a year (or once a year, not sure now) with a certain amount of money which is very low compared to other place in Greece. Since the water system is isolated from other parts of Lesvos, it sounds reasonable and is considered as welfare for the villagers. But it seems some methods of saving water should be organized in the village especially during the summer seasons.
