The new Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (AIA) has been constructed in theheart of the Mesogaia plain, approximately 25 kilometres northeast of Athens. The airport, whichhas been constructed on agricultural land that was once used for the cultivation of vegetables,fruits, olives, and other fresh products, commenced operations in March 2001.The Environmental Department (ENC) of AIA was established from the first day of the company'soperation in summer 1996. The responsibilities of ENC are related to the EnvironmentalManagement System, aircraft noise, air quality, resources monitoring, water management, naturalenvironment, waste management, cultural heritage, and community projects. AIA is the first Hellenicairport, with an Environmental Department that has been certified according to EN ISO 14001since December 2000.The airport and the activities directly and/or indirectly associated with its operations can have anenvironmental impact on water. In order to avoid such impacts, ENC closely monitors and takes initiativesregarding several water issues including: Ground water, Surface water & Potable waterMonitoring.The purpose of this paper is to provide detailed information regarding water management issues,especially those related to monitoring programs. Several such programs are conducted on aregular basis (some having commenced even prior to airport operations, e.g., groundwater and surfacewater) where the different water media are sampled, sent to accredited laboratories, analysedfor a selected suite of parameters, and checked for environmental compliance. If any of the waterstested are in non-compliance then a series of corrective measures are initiatedGroundwater sampling and analysis have been conducted on the airport site prior to airportopening. Results indicate that the parameters observed in exceedance to European legislation areattributed to agricultural practices that were prevalent prior to the airport construction rather thanfrom airport operationsSurface water sampling has been conducted on the site since airport opening. The selectedsuite of parameters tested from specific locations show that no systematic elevated levels havebeen recorded. The initiatives of ENC, including training, environmental auditing of Airport's ThirdParties, and remediation measures, have contributed to this outcomeThe results from the potable water sampling and analysis, which is conducted in cooperationwith EYDAP, indicate that water quality is in compliance with Greek legislation.This paper will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers, since it providesuseful information regarding the design, implementation, and outcome of water monitoring programs.
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