Ten new automated hydrometric stations have been installed, providing the Danube River Research and Maintenance Executive Agency with real-time water level data. The stations will also be measuring the temperature of the water and air, and the information received from them will be used to prepare a forecast for water levels in the Bulgarian-Romanian section of the river.
The data is already being tracked in the section from the village of Gomotartsi, Vidin municipality to the village of Malak Preslavets, Silistra district. Two of the stations are installed on the two bridges on the Danube River near Ruse-Giurgiu and Vidin-Calafat. Another one is floating and is mounted on a buoy made of stabilized polyethylene. The other stations are located at different points along the Bulgarian section of the river.
All stations are independent of the terrestrial electricity distribution network, and the power supply is provided through photovoltaic panels, batteries and a controller for energy conversion, the Agency said.
The supply and installation of the stations is part of a project co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility.