Key facts
- Hungary is diverting water into the Danube and sinking barges to raise critically low river levels.
- The measures aim to prevent another shutdown at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.
- An additional 20 cubic meters of water per second is being released into the Danube from the Ráckeve-Soroksár branch.
- Two barges are being prepared for controlled sinking near Paks to create a temporary sill.
- The Hungarian government approved the emergency project based on expert recommendations.
Hungary is implementing emergency measures to counteract critically low water levels on the Danube River, which threaten the operation of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Authorities have opened the Tassi sluice near Dömsöd, diverting an additional 20 cubic meters of water per second into the main Danube from the Ráckeve-Soroksár branch. This intervention has already raised the river level by approximately two centimeters.
Further downstream at Paks, two barges are being prepared for a controlled sinking. Water will be pumped into their hulls, causing them to settle on the riverbed and form a temporary sill. The goal is to raise the water level sufficiently to prevent another shutdown of the plant's operating turbines as the Danube continues to recede.
The Hungarian government has officially approved this emergency project, which followed a site inspection and a unanimous recommendation from water management, energy, and defense experts. Concurrently, work is progressing rapidly on a permanent sill to be constructed across the river between the Paks plant and Dunaszentbenedek.
Officials anticipate that Tuesday and Wednesday will be critical periods, with forecasts predicting a further drop of 14 to 15 centimeters in the Danube's water level. However, conditions are expected to begin improving from Thursday, as rainfall in the Danube's Austrian catchment area is anticipated to increase river levels.