CNSU prepares interventions at Cernavodă / Barges, pumps, and possible navigation restrictions following the record drop in the Danube's water level

The National Committee for Emergency Situations is preparing urgent measures to supply water to the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, after the Danube reached a new record low in the area. The river level fell to -256 centimeters on Thursday, and the forecast indicates a drop to -267 centimeters on October 13.

The draft CNSU decision, prepared but not yet adopted, provides for the temporary and phased installation of barges, lighter barges, and pontoons along an approximately 170-meter section of the diversion canal leading to the plant. The measure would be supplemented by high-capacity pumping systems capable of transferring at least 6.5 cubic meters of water per second into the plant’s distribution basin.

The intervention is necessary to cool the reactors at Cernavodă, which supply approximately 20% of Romania’s energy consumption. Technical works began as early as the beginning of August, amid the decline in the Danube’s flow rates.

Once the established operational threshold is reached, the authorities could temporarily restrict or suspend navigation and lock operations on the Danube–Black Sea Canal and on the affected sections of the Old Danube.

The decision would enter into force after publication in the Official Gazette.