Four ships sunk to deliver water to nuclear power plant in Romania

Four barges were sunk in the Danube River in Romania to supply water to a nuclear power plant. Digi24 reported this, citing the state institution "Romanian Waters".

According to information, this event was carried out to provide the nuclear power plant in the city of Cernavoda with sufficient water. According to the report, "the four barges, sunk under control, will direct part of the river flow to the network supplying water to the power plant."

The first two barges were sunk on August 7, and the rest on August 8. The operation to sink the last two barges lasted seven hours and was completed at 21:20 Tashkent time.

According to experts, as a result of this operation, the water level near the nuclear power plant will rise by 2-4 centimeters. The Romanian government is expected to evaluate the initial results early this week.

The Cernavoda NPP, which was commissioned in 1996, is the only nuclear power plant in Romania. It has two 700 MW units and supplies about 18 percent of the country’s electricity.

In late July, one of the two units at the Cernavoda NPP was shut down due to a sharp drop in the water level in the Danube. To ensure the operation of the second reactor, the Romanian military blew up an underwater rock in the riverbed.

The Romanian government has urged residents to reduce their electricity consumption, including by not using air conditioning or charging electric cars. It has also introduced light-off schedules. In the southwest of the country, farmers have been restricted from using water to irrigate their crops.

It was previously reported that the water level in the Danube River had dropped, revealing the remains of a nearly 1,700-year-old Roman bridge and the remains of a German warship.