Konstantinos P. Tsagarakis

Application of cost criteria for selection of municipal wastewater treatment systems

Analysis of economic data pertinent to the existing municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTP) in Greece is presented. Thisinformation is important when budgeting for future plants. Thedata include land usage and the costs for construction, operationand maintenance of the form y = axb, where a and b are calculated coefficients. Equations for cost and landuse were produced for specific systems. Personnel and energy aspects are analysed as they are major contributors to operationalcost. A life cycle analysis (LCA) of plants is undertaken. The results of such an analysis should suggest the most preferabletechnology under given circumstances. Thus, under high energy costs and low level of automation and operation, at low F/M ratios, conventional activated sludge systems are relatively notcost effective. In addition, for cost of land less than US

The influence of environmental policy on the decisions of managers to adopt G-SCM practices

30 per m2, waste stabilisation ponds are cost effective subjected to minor earthworks.

An evaluation of the prospects of green entrepreneurship development using a SWOT analysis

This article explores the reasons that affect the decisions of managers of firms to adopt management practices in order to green their supply chain management. Under the context of environmental policy, the relationship between policy instruments (‘command and control’, market-based, and self-regulated) and the decisions of managers to adopt green supply chain management (G-SCM) practices is examined. The results show that in some cases the environmental legislation, market-based instruments and self-regulated incentives could play a critical role in the decisions of managers to adopt some specific G-SCM practices, while in other cases environmental policy instruments have not seemed to affect the decisions of managers regarding some other G-SCM practices.

The potential use of olive mill sludge in solidification process

This article employs a methodological framework based on SWOT analysis to identify the most important factors and concerns in order for public policy organisations to encourage local entrepreneurs to invest in sustainable development. A survey was conducted to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the Greek Development Agencies (DAs) consider important for encouraging local entrepreneurs to exploit new opportunities using local natural resources. The results indicate that institutional, structural, social and economic factors can play a critical role in whether entrepreneurs invest in new business ventures associated with natural resources.

Water Resources Status Including Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in Greece

The industrialisation of agriculture in the second half of the last century has been accompanied by an increase in production of organic wastes. Olive mill wastewater (OMW), a by-product of olive oil processing, is one such waste. It is produced in large quantities in the Mediterranean Region, an area that accounts for 95% of the total olive oil production worldwide. In recent years both physicochemical and biological treatment methods for OMW have been employed. Olive mill sludge (OMS), a by-product of the biological treatment methods, poses a major environmental threat, yet little research has been undertaken in its treatment and recycling. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of using OMS as an additive for the development of construction materials. An attempt was made to solidify (fixate and stabilise) this sludge with cement, mixed with an improver/additive containing a mixture of natural and synthetic zeolites, alkaline elements, and oxides. The results to date appear to be very promising.

Modelling the presence of anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus in the Aegean Sea during early summer, based on satellite environmental data

Abstract This paper presents an overview of regional water resources in Greece including water availability, water uses, wastewater reclamation, and reuse trends. Water demand has increased tremendously in recent decades. Despite adequate precipitation, several regions are under water stress due to temporal and regional variations of precipitation, the high rate of evapotranspiration and the high cost of transporting water over the mountainous terrain. To address the problem of water stress, integration of reclaimed wastewater into water resources management is proposed. Data about the current situation of municipal wastewater treatment and reuse options are presented, and regional and temporal trends for wastewater reclamation and reuse are summarized. It is revealed that by proper management and reuse of the effluent from existing municipal wastewater treatment plants, water availability can be increased by 3.2 percent

Does Size Matter? Operating Cost Coverage for Water Utilities

Acoustic and satellite environmental data as well as bathymetry data were used to model the presence of anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus during early summer in the northern Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were used for modelling and subsequently applied in a predictive mode to identify those areas in the Greek Seas and the entire Mediterranean basin that could support species’ presence. Model results were evaluated with the estimation of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC)-plots as well as qualitatively, based on (a) acoustic data from concurrent studies in certain areas of the northern Aegean Sea that were not included in the estimation of the GAM model and (b) historical acoustic data from the central Aegean and Ionian Seas. Mapping the estimated environmental conditions in the Mediterranean basin indicated areas that generally agree with the known distribution grounds of anchovy, such as the straits of Sicily and coastal waters of Tunisia, areas in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Gulf of Lions and the Catalan Sea.

Habitat discrimination of juvenile sardines in the Aegean Sea using remotely sensed environmental data

This paper compares the operational cost coverage index from 1132 water utilities for five countries (Albania, Brazil, Norway, Russia and Poland). The data used is available through the International Benchmarking Network (IBNET) for Water and Sanitation Utilities. By comparing means or medians of different serving population groups, it was shown that significant financial gains can be achieved by larger utilities. Such analysis can assist decision makers pursue merging of water utilities for profit maximizing purposes. The importance of benchmarking is also emphasized in order to illustrate the utility of the perused statistical analysis.

Institutional status and structure of wastewater quality management in Greece

Despite the importance of the recruitment process for small pelagic fish and the high economic importance of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, Walbaum 1792) in the Mediterranean Sea, knowledge on the distribution and environmental characteristics of its nursery grounds is very limited. In the present study, we used pelagic trawl data collected during 1995–2006 to explore the spatial distribution of sardine juveniles in the Aegean Sea in early summer. Based on sardine abundance per length class, a cluster analysis was initially used to define hauls dominated by juveniles. In a subsequent step, Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) was applied to discriminate stations with high relative abundance of juveniles using satellite environmental data and bottom depth. The parameters contributing mostly to the discrimination of juvenile grounds were sea level anomaly, photosynthetically active radiation, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-α and bottom depth. The classification functions of DFA were finally used to post classify unsampled areas in the Greek Seas and the Mediterranean Sea in order to map grounds that meet characteristic environmental conditions for young sardine. Such areas were mostly located inshore, in semi-closed productive areas and often in proximity to river mouths, a pattern that is generally supported by existing information.

Assessment of Implicit Meaning in the Design of Graphic Symbols for the Control of Recycled Water Use

In recent years sanitation programmes in Greece have been launched principally for domestic environmental reasons, but also because of the countrys commitment to comply with the common European Union (EU) environmental policy. The administration of these new programmes has been based on existing public services, and because of this a number of problems have arisen. This paper describes the institutional and administrative structure of wastewater treatment in Greece. An analysis and evaluation of the existing situation reveals that there is a significant number of problematic municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTP). The agencies involved are described and evaluated and the importance of having specialised agencies is demonstrated. The effects of centralisation of the local administration under a pioneering national plan are predicted and recommendations for improving the institutional and administrative structure are made; taking into account the experience of other countries, local and national constraints, and the existing situation.