Danube Water Levels Continue to Drop, Putting Pressure on Romania's Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant Operations

Romanian official Sorin Lindasu said on August 1 that if the Danube River water level continues to decline, the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Constanța County, southeastern Romania, may only be able to continue operating for 4 to 5 days. To ensure the water level required for continuous plant operation, relevant parties have begun implementing hydraulic engineering works on the Danube.

Lindasu stated that the Danube water level is currently dropping at a rate of about 2 to 3 centimeters per day. A flow rate of 1,590 cubic meters per second has been recorded at the Baziaș inlet where the Danube enters Romanian territory, and this figure is expected to continue declining, potentially falling to about 1,450 cubic meters per second by August 7. Under these conditions, the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant can still operate at full capacity for approximately 4 to 5 days, after which there is a possibility of shutdown.

To address the impact of low water levels, Romanian authorities have taken emergency measures. One measure involves sinking several barges loaded with stones, each weighing approximately 500 tons, at specific locations in the Old Danube branch to regulate the river's flow direction; another measure involves deepening the riverbed at the confluence of the Old Danube branch and the Bala branch. Lindasu stated that there is indeed a current risk, but relevant departments are taking measures to strive to maintain the plant's operation.

He also noted that rainfall upstream in Austria has brought some rise in water levels, but it will take approximately 7 days for the water to reach Romania's entry section, and another 5 days to reach the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. Therefore, over the next two weeks, Romania will need to rely on local resources to find emergency solutions to ensure the plant's continued operation.

Lindasu emphasized that there is no safety risk to the nuclear power plant itself. Once relevant threshold parameters are reached, Unit 2 will be immediately shut down. Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant was already shut down on July 28.

The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant is Romania's only nuclear power plant, with its two existing units built using Canadian CANDU heavy-water reactor technology, generating approximately 20% of Romania's total national electricity output.