Romania Sinks 4 Barges to Protect Cernavodă Plant as Danube Flow Drops to 49,440 cfs
Updated
Updated · The Economic Times · Aug 21
Romania Sinks 4 Barges to Protect Cernavodă Plant as Danube Flow Drops to 49,440 cfs
3 articles · Updated · The Economic Times · Aug 21
Summary
Four rock-filled barges were sunk in the Danube to steer more water toward the Cernavodă nuclear plant, an emergency step to keep its last operating reactor supplied for cooling.
Danube flow at Baziaș fell to 49,440 cubic feet per second on Aug. 10, far below the August average of 137,730 cfs, after drought conditions pushed the plant toward operating limits.
Unit 1 was shut down in a controlled manner on July 28, while Unit 2 remains at nominal capacity but could also be halted if river conditions worsen.
Romania has also dredged the riverbed, used controlled blasting and approved 7 million lei for emergency flow-management measures, though officials say the barges only buy time rather than solve the shortage.
Cernavodă’s two reactors normally supply about 18% to 20% of Romania’s electricity, underscoring how Europe’s wider drought is turning water scarcity into an energy-security risk.