Hydrology

The Hydrology Department at NVE has ca. 110 employees and is responsible for collecting, storing and analysing data on water level, water discharge, snow, ice, glaciers, ground water, water temperature, erosion, and sediment transport.
The department carries out research and development activities, as well as commissioned work.
The department is also responsible for the national flood warning service.

Several other Norwegian institutions also collect information on water; amongst these are The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (precipitation), Geological Survey of Norway (ground water), and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (water quality and pollution).

Data collection
The water-related parameters currently collected by the Hydrology Department of NVE cover the land-phase of the water cycle:

• Water levels and discharge
• Water temperature
• Ice on lakes and rivers
• Sediment transport
• Snow
• Glaciers
• Soil moisture and groundwater

NVE displays hydrological real-time data on the internet: www.nve.no/realtimedata

A major initiative for further automation and modernisation of the national networks started in 2003, in parallel with a thorough evaluation of the purpose and data use of existing stations.

Data Storage
The data are quality controlled and stored in our national hydrological database system, called “HYDRA II”. This database comprises both observation data and the software for analyses, and is in general open for use by clients.

Analyses and assessments
NVE has experience from many parts of the world in providing expertise in water resources assessments. Our competence covers, amongst others, station network design and operation, measurement and observation technology, basic and advanced data processing, environmental impact assessments, and hydrological database management.