The water level is stabilized by the Verhnesvirskaya hydropower plant and varies by only over the year. It rises due to the spring flood which lasts to 2 months. The highest water level is in June–August and the lowest is in March–April. Rivers bring of water per year to the lake, that is up to 74% of the water balance; the rest is provided by precipitation. Most of the lake water (84% or per year) outflows via a single river, Svir, and the remaining 16% evaporates from the lake surface. There are frequent storms more characteristic of a sea than a lake; waves of are not uncommon and may even reach . The lake freezes near the coast and bays in late November and December and around mid-January in its center. Thawing starts in April in the tributaries and reaches the lake in May. Water in the deep parts is clear, with the visibility up to . In the bays, the visibility may decrease to about a meter. The water is fresh, with a salinity of 35 mg/L. This is relatively low for a lake and is about times lower than in the other large lake of the area, Lake Ladoga.