The last of the four barges to be used in the intervention to redirect part of the Danube's flow towards the Bala branch was loaded on Thursday, and each sinking operation is estimated to take between three and four hours, the National Administration "Romanian Waters" (ANAR) said in a post published on the institution's social media page.
"Yesterday, [Thursday, 6 August 2026] the loading of the last of the four barges that will be used in the intervention to redirect part of the Danube's flow towards the Bala branch was completed. Following technical analyses carried out by specialists, the optimal positioning solution for the barges was established in order to maximise the effect of redirecting the current towards the old Danube branch. The barges were loaded with rock so that they would reach a draught of 1.9 metres and will be submerged in a controlled manner, one by one, by flooding the watertight chambers, under maximum safety conditions. Each sinking operation is estimated to take between three and four hours," ANAR said on Facebook.
According to the quoted source, the first two barges will be positioned approximately 500 metres from the entrance to the Bala branch, while the other two will be placed upstream, "in an oblique configuration relative to the direction of the current, in order to create two artificial sills that will encourage the redirection of part of the flow towards the old Danube branch."
"The goal of this intervention is to gain a few additional centimetres in the water level near the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant and to help maintain the necessary hydrological conditions during this period characterised by extremely low flows," the specialists mentioned.
From a hydrological perspective, the situation remains difficult, with the Danube's flow at the point of entry into the country standing at 1,400 cubic metres per second (a new historic low) and expected to remain at this level throughout the week, with flows entering a period of stability, according to the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA).
At Cernavoda, the Danube's level has fallen by a further 2 cm compared with the previous day and currently stands at -220 cm. Hydrologists estimate that the water level is expected to reach -230 cm on 13 August, with an average decline of 1-2 cm per day over the next six days.
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