The National Emergency Committee in Romania has adopted a new decision with additional measures to ensure the necessary water flow for the safe operation of the “Cherna Voda“ nuclear power plant, the government announced last night in a press release, quoted by the Agerpres agency, BTA reported.
The need for intervention is related to a predicted new decrease in the flow of the Danube River, which is expected to start on September 10, the government specified in the press release.
The first reactor of the only nuclear power plant in Romania, which covered about 20 percent of electricity consumption, was shut down on July 27, and the second unit was shut down on August 13 due to the reduced flow of the Danube River due to the drought. Romanian authorities tried to avoid a shutdown of the reactors by blowing up a rock formation and sinking four barges loaded with rocks to raise the river level, but to no avail. After the shutdown of the two reactors, the authorities continue to implement measures to ensure the necessary amount of water to cool the reactors.
The new solution, approved yesterday, foresees the construction of a temporary, modular, phased and reversible intervention system. It will be implemented in the area of the confluence of the Old Danube branch with the entrance to the Danube-Black Sea Canal in the Cherna Voda region, in order to provide the necessary water resources for the plant.
The intervention plan will be activated if the water level drops to 1.58 meters in the water intake basin of the “Cherna Voda“ NPP, and provides for several stages depending on the development of the situation.
In the first stage, several ships and/or loaded barges will be positioned along a line with a length of about 600 meters, so that the current along the Old Danube branch will direct a larger volume of water to the entrance to the Danube-Black Sea Canal and, accordingly, to the water intake of the plant.
In the second stage, a modular barrier with pontoons and hydrobarriers will be built in a section with a length of about 170 meters in the area of the connecting canal of the plant. As a backup option, this system can be replaced with a temporary stone barrier.
“If the intervention actions in the first two stages do not provide the necessary effect, the National Administration “Romanian Waters“ and “Nuclearelectrica“ (the operator of the plant – ed. note) will put into operation high-capacity pumps to ensure additional pumping of water to the water intake for cooling the plant“, the government announced.
The works carried out by the National Administration “Romanian Waters“ in implementation of this plan will be financed by increasing the budget of the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests with funds from the reserve fund at the disposal of the government, the press release specifies.