Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear power plant faces critical cooling-water constraint as Danube nears operational limit

According to Mediafax, citing Romania’s National Administration “Romanian Waters” (Apele Române, ANAR), the water level at Cernavoda reached -259 cm, just 3 cm above the operational limit of -262 cm. Falling below this threshold would affect the conditions required to pump cooling water for the plant.

The Danube’s flow at the point where it enters Romania has fallen below 1,200 cubic metres per second, roughly one-third of the multi-year average for this period, ANAR said in a statement on Saturday, October 10.

Supplementary water discharge in the Danube was already ordered.

To limit the further decline in water levels around Cernavoda, ANAR ordered a temporary increase of 20 cubic metres per second in the flow released from the Iezer reservoir between October 10 and 18, through the coordinated operation of reservoirs in the Mostiștea valley.

The intervention is being coordinated with controlled releases from the Izbiceni reservoirs on the Olt River and Mihăilești on the Argeș River. The aim is to increase the water reaching the Danube and limit the fall in levels in the Cernavoda sector.

“Under current conditions, ensuring the water resources necessary for the safe operation of the Cernavodă NPP represents a responsibility of national interest,” ANAR said.

More measures are being considered if water levels fall further.

Separately, Romania’s National Committee for Emergency Situations (CNSU) drafted an emergency decision on October 10 proposing a more extensive intervention to secure the water supply to Cernavoda, according to Profit.ro. The draft, which had not yet been adopted, envisages a temporary, modular barrier made from ballasted barges and pontoons across a section of approximately 170 metres of the canal supplying the plant, alongside high-capacity pumping systems.

The pumps would be designed to transfer at least 6.5 cubic metres of water per second into the plant’s water-distribution basin. Their deployment would involve Apele Române, Nuclearelectrica, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and the National Company for the Administration of Navigable Canals.