Romanian Waters: The Danube at unprecedented historic lows. Intervention measures to maintain minimum flows, necessary for nuclear power generation

The Danube’s level at Cernavodă fell on Saturday, October 10, 2026, to -259 centimeters, just three centimeters above the critical operational threshold of -262 centimeters. This level is necessary for pumping cooling water to the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant.

To reduce the risk of problems in the operation of the nuclear units, the National Administration “Romanian Waters” ordered urgent measures to supplement flows. An additional flow of 20 cubic meters per second will be released from the Iezer reservoir, on the Mostiștea Valley, from October 10 to 18.

The operation is coordinated with controlled releases from the Izbiceni reservoir, on the Olt River, and the Mihăilești reservoir, on the Argeș River. The decisions take into account the time needed for the water to propagate and the hydrological forecasts.

Romanian Waters specifies that the measure does not involve draining Lake Iezer, which will retain more than 40 million cubic meters of water. The Danube’s flow at the point where it enters Romania has fallen below 1,200 cubic meters per second, a very low figure for this time of year. Ensuring cooling water for the Cernavodă nuclear power plant is being treated as a national security priority, and the situation is being continuously monitored.