The dredging works in the Cernavodă area have been reduced, although the Danube's water level has fallen and the power plant needs water to cool the reactors. What is the reason

Dredging works in the Cernavodă area were scaled back in September, even though the Danube’s flow fell to 1,250 cubic meters per second and the operations are necessary to ensure cooling water for the nuclear plant’s reactors. The contract for the main dredger operated by the “Lower Danube” River Administration ended on August 30, and the equipment was withdrawn from the area.

At the end of August, three pieces of equipment were working to reshape the riverbed, while the authorities were also building a stone embankment. The AFDJ dredger could remove up to 8,000 cubic meters of sediment per day, nearly twice as much as the two pieces of equipment operated by the Romanian Waters Administration. It is currently located near Giurgiu.

The decision of the National Committee for Emergency Situations provided for the urgent mobilization of any available dredger and the continuation of works downstream from Cernavodă. However, additional interventions required a new government decision and funding to remove approximately 500,000 cubic meters of sediment. So far, these decisions have not been issued, and the works already carried out reportedly have not been fully paid for.

The Ministry of Transport and the government have provided no explanations regarding the stoppage of the equipment and the financing of the next stages.