Romania analyzes emergency measures for Cernavodă nuclear plant amid low Danube levels

Romania's government is actively addressing the critical situation of historically low Danube river levels, which threaten the cooling system of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. An interministerial committee, Bala-Cernavodă, has convened to analyze and implement emergency measures aimed at ensuring a sufficient water supply for the plant's reactors.

One of the priority solutions involves dredging specific sections of the Danube River. The plan is to create wider and deeper channels, approximately 30 meters wide and at least 2 meters deep, to facilitate a greater volume of water flowing towards the Old Danube and the Cernavodă area. While this aims to increase water flow and speed, the low water levels themselves pose a significant challenge, risking the blockage of dredging vessels and limiting the operational capacity of ships.

In parallel, authorities have deployed barges near the Cernavodă bridge. These barges are anchored perpendicular to the riverbank along a 200-meter stretch on the left bank. Their purpose is to redirect the water current more forcefully towards the navigable channel and the intake area of the power plant and the Danube-Black Sea Canal. This intervention is designed to test the effectiveness of a permanent stone structure, known as a spur dike, which is planned downstream near the CNE Cernavodă canal.

The government emphasized that these interventions are fully reversible, with effects continuously monitored through measurements. The configuration can be adjusted or the structures removed if necessary. The primary role of these measures, given the extremely low water flow, is to direct the current and protect dredged areas from silting, rather than immediately raising the overall water level.

Further solutions are under consideration, including the construction of a stone spur dike downstream from the Cernavodă bridge. The government stated that these solutions will be applied and evaluated in stages over the next few weeks, reflecting a cautious and adaptive approach to managing the potential risks to the nuclear facility.