The Estonian Environment Agency carries out hydrological monitoring, analyses water data, prepares hydrological forecasts and performs civil engineering calculations, also publishes domestic and international reports on groundwater, surface water and water use, and administrates water related databases.
Hydrology
The climate department carries out hydrological monitoring, analyses, generalises, stores and disseminates collected monitoring data, prepares hydrological forecasts and performs civil engineering calculations and maintains a hydrological information system.
The national hydrometric network includes 100 permanent monitoring stations located on rivers, lakes, marshes and the coastal sea. Automatic monitoring stations measure water levels, water temperature, precipitation and air temperature. The monitoring stations forward the data online to the website of the state’s weather service (www.ilmateenistus.ee).
The Estonian hydrometric network forwards historical data as well as operative hydrological information to an international data exchange network. The hydrology department represents Estonia in the work of WMO’s Commission for Hydrology and the Nordic Association for Hydrology.
More information: http://www.ilmateenistus.ee/siseveed/?lang=en
Water use
Water use means the abstraction of water from a water body or groundwater layer, but also the discharge of effluent back into the water body. The term also includes the use of a water body for economic purposes (e.g. hydropower production) or in any other way. Water use is regulated with permits for the special use of water.
One obligation of water users is to report annually their amounts of abstracted and used water, volume of waste water and pollutants discharged to a recipient, the economic indicators of water use as well as the contents and quantity of substance removed, relocated or dumped during the dredging or dumping at sea.
The Estonian Environment Agency prepares a report form for water users that can be opened and filled in on website (http://veka.eelis.ee) by the 1st of February next year to the reporting year. The water user shall submit a report about its water-related activities according to their water-permit terms by the 1st of March next year to the reporting period.
Last updated: 22.01.2026
