The Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) operates the Arctic Runoff Data Base (ARDB) to support programmes and projects of the United Nations and their special organisations in the Arctic region. The ARDB is a contribution to the Climate and Cryosphere project (CliC) of WCRP, and supports the Arctic-HYCOS basic network under development.

The development of a hydrological database, the European Water Archive (EWA), has been a central feature at the inception of the EURO-FRIEND-Water Programme in 1985. EWA is now one of the most comprehensive hydrological archives in Europe, containing long-term daily flow data and catchment information from more than 4000 river gauging stations in 30 countries. The Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), Federal Institute of Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany, hosts the European Water Archive.

The Southern Africa Flow Database, established between 1992 and 1997 to support rainfall-runoff modelling, contains flow time series data from about 850 stations across Southern Africa (SA). Initially hosted at the University of Dar es Salaam during the SA FRIEND Phase I and maintained by the CEH in Wallingford in Phase II, the SA Flow Database is operated by the GRDC since November 2010.

The Global Terrestrial Network for River Discharge (GTN-R) is a component of the Global Terrestrial Network - Hydrology (GTN-H) to support the Global Climate Observing system (GCOS) and the Hydrology and Water Resources Programme of the WMO (HWRP). The basic idea of the GTN-R project is to draw together the already available real-time discharge data provided by the National Hydrological Services (NHS) and to redistribute it in a standardised way. Core component is the GCOS Baseline River Network of gauging stations located near to the mouth of the World's major rivers.

The Climate Senstive Stations dataset comprises daily discharge data of more than 1,100 gauging stations identified by the National Hydrological Services as "climate sensitive" ones. The obtained data are considered appropriate for climate studies.

The dataset compiles time series of river discharge data of 718 stations of the GRDC database longer than 20 years, each capturing a basin area greater than 10,000 km² and representing a cell in a 2,5° grid cell coverage. The time series are updated regularly.