Romania is preparing emergency water-management actions to restore cooling conditions at NPP Cernavoda, where exceptionally low Danube levels have left both reactors unavailable. The measures include dredging, reservoir releases and other temporary steps aimed at improving water availability for the site. The plant has been offline since 13 August, according to the report, after river levels fell below cooling requirements.
Emergency works planned around Cernavoda intake
Authorities are considering an aqueduct on the Old Danube to redirect additional water toward the Danube-Black Sea Canal and the area supplying Cernavoda. Emergency dredging around the intake is also planned as part of the effort to address the intake conditions. These actions are intended to support access to water needed for reactor cooling.
National emergency committee approves multi-agency intervention
The National Committee for Emergency Situations has approved a wider intervention involving several state institutions and the military. Defence Ministry specialists are expected to carry out geodetic and topobathymetric surveys. Military divers would support underwater work connected with the planned measures.
Reservoir releases and pumping options to raise river flows
In parallel, authorities are attempting to increase river flows from upstream reservoirs. Starting on 22 August, Hidroelectrica began releasing an additional average 50 cubic metres per second from reservoirs on the Olt River for five days. The released water continues through hydropower plants downstream, allowing electricity production to continue during the release period.
Water stored in the Danube-Black Sea Canal is being held as another reserve while high-capacity pumps are being prepared as an additional emergency option. Romania has also returned two coal-fired generating units to service to compensate partially for lost nuclear output. The operational adjustments reflect how hydrological constraints can affect multiple parts of the power system.
The Cernavoda outage is linked to cooling limits caused by low water levels, with nuclear operations affected alongside hydro management needs. The situation can also require thermal generation to return to service when nuclear output is unavailable due to insufficient cooling conditions.
