Romania’s government drafts contingency plan to keep Cernavoda nuclear power plant safe

03 September 2026 After detonating a large rock and sinking several barges, the government of Romania has drafted a new plan to raise the level of the Danube near the Cernavodă nuclear power plant (NPP) in order to maintain the safety of the nuclear installations, which require a minimum amount of water even when not generating power. The intervention is necessary as the flow of the Danube is forecast to decline further starting on September 10, the government announced. At the current Danube level near the Cernavodă NPP (1.86 metres), both reactors are shut down, and all efforts to raise the water level have failed so far. The maximum flow of the Danube at the entrance to the country is expected to remain below multiannual averages in September, October and November, according to the thre