Geography
Estonia, with a total area of 45100 SqKm, is one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered in the north by the Gulf of Finland, in the east by the Russian Federation, in the south by Latvia and in the west by the Baltic Sea. Estonia is situated on the southern slope of the Fennoscadian shield. The territory of Estonia rose from the sea bed and its surface is relatively flat with an average altitude of 50 m above sea level. The higher areas are the Haanja uplands in the southeast, with a peak of 318 m, and the Pandivere uplands in the northeast, with a peak of 166 m. More than 1500 islands in the Baltic Sea are part of Estonia, constituting 9% of the territory.

Population and land use
The total population is about 1.3 Million (Population Reference Bureau, 2019), of which about 27% is rural. About 41% of the urban population lives in the capital Tallinn. The average population density is 33 inhabitants/Km2, varying from 12 inhabitants/Km2 on Hiiumaa Island to 127 inhabitants/Km2 in Harjumaa county, where the capital is located.

Climate and rainfall
The sea has an impact on the climate throughout the country. Winters are mild, springs are short, summers are warm and sunny, and autumns are long and windy. The average precipitation is 632 mm/year, but is somewhat lower on the islands and in the coastal areas while being somewhat higher in the uplands. The climatological conditions allow the cultivation of one crop per year during summer with irrigation possibly needed in May and June. In dry years, it is necessary to irrigate in July and August as well. However, more important than irrigation is drainage. It is estimated, that without drainage about two-thirds of the land for agricultural production would suffer from waterlogging.

Food and agriculture

The cultivable area is estimated at almost 1.4 Mha, which is about 30% of the total area of the country. In 1995, the total cultivated area was 863 324 Ha, of which 98.5% was covered by annual crops. Since independence, the agricultural sector has been going through a process of privatization. The soils of Estonia are generally heavy and stony. The main irrigated crops are pasture and vegetables.

Irrigation and drainage

The irrigation potential is estimated at 150 000 ha. In the coastal areas it is not possible to irrigate without the construction of reservoirs. The irrigation areas are mainly located in the north and east of the country. The entire area is irrigated by surface water, of which 80% is irrigated by pumping from the rivers and 20% from reservoirs. Almost 70% of the irrigated areas are found in large-scale schemes, with areas between blocks of 100 and 300 ha each, while under 1% of the irrigated areas are in schemes of blocks of less than 10 ha each. Drainage of agricultural land in Estonia dates back to the 17th century, when the first areas of pasture land were drained artificially. At present about 732 000 ha, or almost 85% of the cultivated land, are drained, of which 650,000 ha, or 89%, are equipped with subsurface drainage systems. In addition, an estimated 560 600 ha of forests, or 13% of the total forest area, are said to be drained.

Water resources management
The Internal Renewable Water Resources (IRSWR) are estimated at 11 712 Mm³/year. A total quantity of about 96 Mm³/year is estimated to flow from Latvia and the Russian Federation into Estonia, while an estimated 406 Mm³/year flow from Estonia into Latvia and the Russian Federation.There are over 1400 lakes, covering over 6% of the total area of the country, and about 21% of the total area is swamp. The artificial Lake Narva in the northeast was created in 1956, when the Narva hydropower plant started operating. Its total area is 191 Km², of which 38 Km² are located within Estonia. Its average depth is 1.8 m and its deepest point is 15 m. Estonia is rich in groundwater resources. The internal renewable groundwater resources are estimated at 4 Km³/year. Generally, in southern Estonia the groundwater of the Devonian aquifer is used, while in western and sporadically in central Estonia the water of the Silurian-Ordovician horizon is used. Groundwater covers about two-thirds of the drinking water supply. Part of the groundwater flows out to the sea and part returns to the surface water systems. This later part, which is already accounted for in the runoff (overlap), has been estimated at 3 Km³/year. In 1995, the water withdrawals for agricultural, domestic and industrial purposes were estimated at 158 Mm³, of which only 5% was used for agricultural purposes. In addition, more than 1 200 Mm3 were used for cooling in the thermal power production in the Narva region and about 172 Mm³ for fisheries. For the majority of towns and settlements, groundwater is the only source of drinking and industrial water, except in the towns of Tallinn and Narva near the coast where groundwater resources are very limited. In 1995, about 88% of the population had access to drinking water supply.

Water policies
The restoration of Estonia’s independence has brought with it significant changes in ownership and in the institutional framework of the country. The transition process in the economy has caused changes in landownership. The large drainage systems have to be shared among new landowners, and land and water associations need to be established to oversee the operation, maintenance and management of the drainage systems. Intensive agriculture has resulted into an increase in nitrogen concentrations in groundwater due to intensive use of inorganic fertilizers. A decline in the use of fertilizers in recent years seems to have already resulted in a decrease in the nitrogen concentrations in groundwater wells. While deeper groundwater layers meet the existing drinking water standards, upper groundwater layers in many regions are still polluted with nitrogen compounds. Close to former military bases, groundwater is often polluted with oil products. The drastic reduction in economic activity since 1989 and the construction of new wastewater treatment plants have already reduced pollution considerably.

ICID and National Committee

Estonia joined ICID in 2001 and has since been actively associated with ICID activities at national as well as international levels. ESTICID also had the honour of hosting the 10th International Drainage Workshop jointly with FINCID in the year 2008. The ESTICID is currently Chaired by Mr. Hannes Puu and can be contacted at <hannes.puu@agri.ee>