The history of hydrology in Croatia

Hydrological measurements and observations in Croatia began in the 18th century, with systematic monitoring established in the 19th century during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1948, a hydrology course was introduced at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Zagreb University. As a result, hydrology has a long-standing tradition as a science in the Republic of Croatia. The leading institutions responsible for water management in the country are Hrvatske Vode and the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service. Croatia has an operational hydrological network consisting of 447 stations for measuring surface water and 714 stations for monitoring groundwater levels. To date, the Republic of Croatia has collected and archived over 100 years of continuous hydrological data, which serves various purposes. Following the extreme flooding of the Sava and Kupa Rivers in 2014, hydrological forecasting models were developed specifically for the Sava River basin.