URA - Uraren Euskal Agentzia | Agencia Vasca del Agua

What URA - Uraren Euskal Agentzia | Agencia Vasca del Agua does

URA - Uraren Euskal Agentzia (Agencia Vasca del Agua) is the Basque Government's designated water authority, established by Law 1/2006 of June 23 as a public autonomous entity (organismo autónomo). It operates as the sole competent water authority for the Basque Country's internal river basins, coordinating with the Cantabrian and Ebro Hydrographic Confederations for trans-regional basins. The agency serves Basque municipalities, provincial councils (Foru Aldundiak) of Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa, water supply consortia, industrial and agricultural users, and citizens. It manages hydrological planning, flood risk, wastewater discharge control, water usage rights, drought management, and river restoration under the EU Water Framework Directive.

URA's core product portfolio is structured around five core functional areas: Plan Hidrologikoa (hydrological planning), Uholde Arriskuaren Kudeaketa (flood risk management), Isurketen Kontrola (discharge control), Ur-erabilerak (water usage rights), and Zaintza eta Lehengoratzea (environmental protection and restoration). Supplementary modules include a GIS Viewer (GIS Bisorea) with OGC-compliant services, a flow measurement station network, water status monitoring, online administrative procedures, water canon collection, and a special drought plan. Underlying technology consists of geographic information systems, hydrological monitoring stations, publicly accessible OGC and FTP data services, and a Basque Government digital headquarters integration. The agency operates from four physical sites: headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz, regional offices in Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastián, and a laboratory in Lasarte.

URA's business model is non-commercial. It is funded through three primary streams: (1) public budget allocations from the Basque Government, (2) regulated water fees (Canon del Agua, discharge canon, usage/occupation canon) collected from water users under Decree 229/2021 and amended by 48/2025, and (3) European funds via Next Generation EU, FEDER 2021-2027, and LIFE program projects (LIFE Kantauribai, LIFE Urban Klima 2050, LIFE Irekibai). Pricing is usage-based and regulated by Basque regional legislation. The agency is governed by an Administration Council with representatives from the Basque Government and three Provincial Councils, with participatory advisory bodies including the Users' Assembly and the Basque Water Council. As of December 31, 2025, URA employs 199 staff.

Name

URA - Uraren Euskal Agentzia | Agencia Vasca del Agua

Legal name

Uraren Euskal Agentzia

Website

https://uragentzia.euskadi.eus

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Short description

URA is the Basque Government's designated water authority for the Basque Country's internal basins, managing hydrological planning, flood risk, discharge control, and water usage rights. It serves municipalities, provincial councils, water consortia, industrial and agricultural users, and citizens through four regional offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Resource Management

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)

Keywords

• Hydrological planning services
• Flood risk management
• Wastewater discharge control
• Water resources administration
• River ecosystem restoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Vitoria-Gasteiz

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Budget Allocation: URA operates as a government agency with annual public budgets funded through the Basque Government's general budget allocations.
2. Water Fees (Canon del Agua): Collection of water usage fees including water canon, discharge canon (including land-to-sea discharges), and usage/occupation canon for hydraulic public domain.
3. Sanctions and Penalties: Revenue from sanctioning non-compliant water users and polluters, including violations of water quality regulations, unauthorized discharges, and misuse of hydraulic public domain.
4. European Funds: Funding from European Union programs including Next Generation EU, FEDER funds, and LIFE program projects (LIFE Kantauribai, LIFE Urban Klima, LIFE Irekibai).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

URA is the autonomous body of the Basque Government that plans and manages water resources within the internal basins of the Basque Country (Cantábrico Oriental). Its core services include hydrological planning, flood risk management (PGRI), regulation of wastewater discharges, issuance of water usage concessions, and conservation and restoration of rivers and aquatic ecosystems.

Product overview

URA (Uraren Euskal Agentzia / Agencia Vasca del Agua) is the Basque Government's water management authority, operating as a unified agency managing water resources, flood risk, and environmental protection across the Basque Country. The agency offers an integrated portfolio of services centered on hydrological planning, water quality management, and flood defense. Core offerings include the Hydrological Plan (Plan Hidrologikoa) for river basin management, Flood Risk Management (Uholde Arriskuaren Kudeaketa), Wastewater Discharge Control (Isurketen Kontrola), Water Usage Management (Ur-erabilerak), and Environmental Protection (Zaintza eta Lehengoratzea). Supplementary modules provide GIS visualization tools, real-time flow data, water quality monitoring, online administrative procedures, water fee collection, and drought emergency planning. The agency also provides OGC-compliant geographic web services and FTP data downloads for public access to hydrological information.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hydrological Planning (Plan Hidrológico)
• Flood Risk Management Plans (PGRI)
• Wastewater Discharge Control (Autorización de Vertidos)
• Water Usage Concessions (Concesiones de uso del agua)
• Environmental Protection and River Restoration (Conservación y Restauración de Ríos) Conservation, maintenance and restoration actions on rivers, floodplains, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems within the internal Basque basins; oriented to public administrations, environmental bodies and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Current hydrological planning cycle 2022-2027; fourth cycle (2028-2033) in public consultation phase.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Confederación Hidrográfica del Cantábrico (Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination on trans-regional basins flowing to the Cantabrian Sea including Bidasoa, Urumea, Oria, Nervión, Ibaizabal, Cadagua, Agüera, and Karrantza rivers. Joint hydrological planning and management of shared water resources.
• Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro (Ebro Hydrographic Confederation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination on Basque Country basins flowing to the Ebro River including Omecillo, Baia, Zadorra, Jugalez (Inglares), Araia, Ega, and Errioxa rivers. Joint management of Mediterranean watershed basins.
• Basque Government DepartmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with multiple Basque Government departments including Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability; Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport; Health; Security; and Economy and Finance for integrated water management.
• Foru Aldundiak (Provincial Councils) of Álava, Bizkaia, and GipuzkoacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInter-institutional collaboration through Administration Council representation and joint projects for water infrastructure, flood protection, and environmental management across Basque provinces.
• Water Supply ConsortiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with water supply consortia including Bilbao-Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Añarbeko Ura (Añasco), Txingudi, and others through Users' Assembly and Water Council participation.
• EUDEL (Basque Municipalities Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEUDEL represents local municipalities in URA's governance bodies, facilitating municipal-level collaboration on water management issues.
• University of the Basque Country (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic representation in Water Council through Geodynamics Chair of Science Faculty, providing scientific expertise for water management decisions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Confederación Hidrográfica del Cantábrico: Spanish hydrographic confederation responsible for Cantabrian slope basins, with which URA directly coordinates on trans-regional rivers. Operates the same hydrological planning, flood risk management, and water rights mandate at inter-regional level.
• Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro: Manages Ebro basin waters, including Basque Country rivers flowing to the Ebro. Shares URA's regulatory model (basin-level planning, canon fees, discharge control) and is a core coordination partner on Mediterranean watershed basins.
• Agència Catalana de l'Aigua: Catalonia's regional water agency performing the same integrated water resource management role as URA — hydrological planning, flood risk, discharge control, water canon fees — for another Spanish autonomous community.
• Agences de l'Eau (France): France's six basin-level water agencies (e.g., Adour-Garonne, Loire-Bretagne) implementing hydrological planning, water canon fees, and discharge control under EU Water Framework Directive — directly analogous institutional model to URA.
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA): Scotland's environmental regulator covering flood risk management, water quality, discharge licensing, and hydrological planning — comparable agency-type institution to URA at sub-national level.

Broad incumbents

• Agencia Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA): Portugal's national environmental agency with water resources administration responsibilities including hydrological planning, river basin management plans, and discharge permitting under EU directives — comparable scope at national level.
• Environment Agency (England): UK's principal environmental regulator for water with comparable mandate in flood risk management, water quality monitoring, discharge permitting, and hydrological planning — broader scope but operationally aligned with URA's functions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/uraEJGV
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/uraagentzia
• Facebookfacebook.com/uraagentzia
• Instagraminstagram.com/ura_agencia_vasca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about URA - Uraren Euskal Agentzia | Agencia Vasca del Agua