Romania has launched on Wednesday a delicate maneuver to submerge four barges loaded with rocks in the Danube, in order to increase the flow that reaches the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, in a context of unusually low water levels that is crucial for the cooling of its reactors and that already puts its normal operation at risk.
The plan for the controlled sinking of the four vessels aims to raise a bottom dam in the bed of the Danube, so that the river level rises between 10 and 12 centimeters and, at the same time, the flow that is currently diverted to the Bala river is reduced.
The operation comes after technicians detonated 180 kilograms of explosives on a rocky formation known as Parjoaia. The acting Minister of Defense, Radu Miruta, explained the previous day that this intervention managed to increase the water height by two centimeters, although this increase has not been enough to ensure the necessary supply to one of the reactors of the nuclear plant.
For now, the authorities have not given "the green light" to the sinking of the barges, waiting for the full safety of the workers against the dangerous currents of the river to be guaranteed. The excavators, however, continue operating to extract enough rock to load the barges, according to Libertatea.
The two reactors of Cernavoda contribute around 20% of Romania's electricity production, making this facility a strategic element of the national energy system. The current flow of the Danube is three times lower than the usual average for August, with 1,450 cubic meters per second compared to the 3,900 that are usually recorded at this time.