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[TECHNOLOGY] · Romania · 13 sources

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Part of situation: Romania energy sector: Cernavodă shutdown and water crisis (13 clusters)

Cernavodă Nuclear Plant faces cooling risks as Danube water levels drop

Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant Danube water levels hydrological crisis Apele Române cooling water shortage

The Danube River has reached critically low levels near the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, prompting emergency interventions by the National Administration 'Apele Române' (ANAR). On October 10, 2026, the water level was recorded at -259 cm, just 3 cm above the operational threshold of -262 cm required for pumping cooling water to the plant's reactors.

To mitigate the risk, ANAR has ordered a temporary increase in water discharge from the Iezer reservoir by 20 m³/s between October 10 and 18. This effort is being coordinated with controlled water releases from the Izbiceni reservoir on the Olt River and the Mihăilești reservoir on the Argeș River to bolster the Danube's flow. Additionally, authorities are exploring technical solutions, such as creating a temporary dam to redirect water toward the plant's cooling pump suction area.

The two reactors at Cernavodă remain offline, with officials stating they cannot be restarted until at least October 15. Despite the severity of the hydrological situation, experts from the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN) emphasized that reaching these water level limits does not automatically imply a risk of a nuclear accident, noting that the facility maintains sufficient water reserves for several days.

Entities

Administrația Națională „Apele Române” · Apele Române · Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant · Cristian Bușoi · Danube · Irineu Darău · National Administration 'Apele Române' · National Mineral Water Society · Petre Min · Romania

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Sources

Dunărea scade dramatic, iar situația de la Cernavodă devine tot mai delicată! Ce măsuri au luat autoritățile [www.stiridecluj.ro]
Cernavodă este la doar 3 cm de limita operațională [alephnews.ro]
Dunărea la Cernavodă, la doar 3 cm de limita pentru răcirea centralei. Măsuri de urgență [economedia.ro]
Dunărea la Cernavodă, la 3 centimetri de limita de siguranță a centralei nucleare. Apele unui lac din județul Călărași sunt direcționate în Dunăre [newmoney.ro]
Dunărea, la minime istorice fără precedent [www.promptmedia.ro]
Dunărea, la minime istorice. Pe sectorul Cernavodă, măsuri în vederea suplimentării aportului de apă - Radio România Constanța [www.radioconstanta.ro]
Dunărea a ajuns la trei centimetri de pragul operațional de la Cernavodă, iar autoritățile suplimentează temporar debitele [www.forbes.ro]
Dunărea, la doar trei centimetri de limita operațională la Cernavodă [www.g4media.ro]
Dunărea, la un nou minim istoric. Probleme mari cu răcirea reactoarelor de la Cernavodă [hotnews.ro]
Ideiglenes műszaki beavatkozásokkal biztosítanák a cernavodăi atomerőmű vízellátását [maszol.ro]
Apele Române suplimentează debitul Dunării pentru funcționarea în siguranță a Centralei Cernavodă • Newsweek România [newsweek.ro]
Mindössze három centiméterre került a kritikus vízszinttől a Duna Csernavodánál, intézkedni kellett az atomerőmű miatt | Székelyhon [szekelyhon.ro]
CNCAN, despre siguranţa instalaţiei de la Cernavodă în condiţiile nivelului critic al Dunării [www.zf.ro]