Emergency dredging to secure cooling and raw water
Budapest’s Kelenfoldi power plant carried out emergency dredging after record-low Danube water levels reduced access to the bay used for cooling and raw-water intake. The intervention was completed in early August at a cost of around €55,000. Around 300-400 cubic metres of sediment were removed from a 50-metre section of the plant’s bay. The works lowered the riverbed by approximately 50-100 centimetres.
It was the first dredging operation of its kind during the plant’s more than 110-year history. Kelenfoldi relies on the bay for cooling and raw water, and it also provides district energy services. During summer, the plant supplies hot water to almost 41,000 households and around 1,800 public institutions. In winter, it supports district heating operations.
September gauge lows deepen operational constraints
Conditions deteriorated further in September as the Budapest Danube gauge fell to just 1 centimetre above its reference zero on Sept. 8. That level marked the lowest recorded gauge reading, while actual river depth through the city remained around 3-3.5 metres on average. The previous record for the gauge was 28 centimetres, set only at the end of July.
Rainfall in the upper Danube catchment could provide some relief, but prolonged drought is increasingly affecting hydropower output and river transport as well as cooling-water security for thermal plants.
