Record-low water levels in the Danube have forced Romanian authorities to take extreme measures to keep the Cernavodă nuclear plant running, but shutting down the last reactor is now, according to officials, 'inevitable.'
Romania is facing a dramatic energy crisis as record-low water levels in the Danube threaten the complete shutdown of the Cernavodă nuclear plant. State-owned company Nuclearelectrica announced on Tuesday that it may be forced to shut down the last of its two operational reactors on August 13, 2026, despite taking unprecedented measures to redirect water.
The flow of the Danube, Europe's second-longest river, at its entry point into Romania fell on Tuesday to a new record low of just 1,370 cubic meters per second, confirmed the director of the state water management agency. He assessed that shutting down the second reactor has become 'inevitable.'
At the end of July, one of the two reactors at Cernavodă, which together provide a fifth of Romania's total electricity production, was already taken offline. To save the remaining reactor, authorities have undertaken a series of extreme measures. According to Reuters, they have dredged the riverbed, blasted rocks in a Danube branch, and sunk barges filled with stones to redirect the water flow toward the plant.
These efforts have temporarily paid off. Reuters reported on August 10 that redirecting water from the Danube had secured enough coolant for roughly nine additional days of operation. However, Nuclearelectrica stated that the final decision will depend on several factors. 'The possibility of a controlled shutdown (of the second reactor) is based on weather forecasts for the coming period, the Danube's water level, and operational parameters,' the company said in a statement.
The low water level issue is affecting the entire region, but with varying consequences. Romania has already declared an energy emergency in August and appealed to citizens and businesses to voluntarily reduce water consumption in the evening hours. On the other hand, neighboring Hungary began switching on one turbine of its Paks nuclear plant on Monday, after the Danube's water level there rose.
Romania's water management agency explained that rains falling upstream do not bring relief to their country because it is the last country the Danube flows through before emptying into the Black Sea. Europe has been hit by record heat and devastating fires this summer, which have already harmed electricity production, river shipping, and public health systems across the continent.
