How Greece Drained a Lake in 1962 for Farmland — Then the Farmland Died of Thirst

In 1962 Greece finished draining Lake Karla, a shallow lake in the middle of the Thessaly plain, by sending the whole of it out through a single bore more than ten kilometres long — a way out that moves about eight and a half cubic metres a second. The engineers' own technical file records the outcome without excuses: the drainage of the lake was achieved, and flood protection for the region was not, because real flood protection here would have needed several hundred cubic metres a second. About eighty thousand stremmata of exposed lake bed went into cultivation, and then that new farmland began drinking the ground under it — the water table fell, the layer compacted, roads and irrigation channels tore apart, and salty drainage water was pumped back onto the crops season after season. The lake was rebuilt from the year two thousand at a cost of two hundred and forty-five million euros, at thirty-eight square kilometres. In September 2023 Storm Daniel filled the basin past the shape Karla had held before anyone touched it, and the only way out was still the hole cut in 1962. #LakeKarla #Greece #Thessaly #StormDaniel #Engineering #Documentary DISCLAIMER _______________ This is not engineering advice. Everything here is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Contact an engineer licensed to practice in your area if you need professional advice or services. All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.