The Government announces new interventions for supplying water to the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant / The initial works cost 12.1 million lei

The works to ensure the raw water needed to cool reactors 1 and 2 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant cost 12.1 million lei in the first stage, against the backdrop of historically low levels of the Danube. The Government is preparing new interventions to maintain the water resource used by the plant, which supplies approximately 20% of the national electricity consumption, according to News.ro.

In August, the Lower Danube River Administration Galați carried out dredging works in the critical Caragheorghe-Turcescu and Cochirleni areas. The Romanian National Administration “Apele Române” intervened with two of its own dredging units. The costs included 7 million lei for sinking barges at the mouth of the Bala Branch and 5.1 million lei for dredging 100,000 cubic metres, the Prime Minister’s Chancellery told News.ro.

For the immediate period, barges, hopper barges, push boats, pontoons and equipment belonging to the Ministry of Defence have been prepared. IGSU can install 30 motor pumps, while the water supply could be supplemented through a controlled transfer from the Danube–Black Sea Canal.

The Government says that the AFDJ dredger did not operate in September because of the low water level and alluvial sills that restricted navigation. AFDJ is preparing the procedures for continuing the dredging, including an additional programme of approximately 500,000 cubic metres. In the long term, an update of the BALA II project is being considered.