Switch thirsty crops, water by drip
Where most water goes to fields, moving from paddy and sugarcane to millets, pulses or maize, and from flood to drip or sprinkler irrigation, saves more than any recharge can add.
Groundwater level in Guna
67%Safe
Groundwater use is within safe limits here. That is the 2025 stage of groundwater extraction: water pumped out in a year as a share of what rain and other sources safely put back. Up 11 points since 2017.
578 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
868 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
95%goes to irrigation; the rest to homes and industry
Extraction since 2009
Each point is one CGWB assessment. Over-exploited means more water leaves the ground than comes back, so the water table keeps falling. Hover over or tap a point to see why it moved.
Safe · up to 70%Semi-critical · 70–90%Critical · 90–100%Over-exploited · above 100%
Show the numbers
| Year | Stage | Pumped out | Safe limit | Category | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 57.0% | 405 million m³ | 710 million m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 54.0% | 413 million m³ | 766 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 2% (405 → 413 million m³). Safe limit up 8% (710 → 766 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2017 | 55.3% | 461 million m³ | 834 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 12% (413 → 461 million m³). Safe limit up 9% (766 → 834 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 66.0% | 497 million m³ | 753 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 8% (461 → 497 million m³). Safe limit down 10% (834 → 753 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2022 | 65.5% | 502 million m³ | 767 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 1% (497 → 502 million m³). Safe limit up 2% (753 → 767 million m³). |
| 2023 | 65.0% | 502 million m³ | 773 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 0% (502 → 502 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (767 → 773 million m³). |
| 2024 | 64.6% | 548 million m³ | 849 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 9% (502 → 548 million m³). Safe limit up 10% (773 → 849 million m³). |
| 2025 | 66.6% | 578 million m³ | 868 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 5% (548 → 578 million m³). Safe limit up 2% (849 → 868 million m³). |
Million m³: 1 million m³ = 100 crore litres. 2009 and 2013 used the older GEC-97 method.
Loading 20 years of rainfall…
Ponds and lakes in Guna
838 of 1,212 water bodies (69%) are not in use: dried up, silted, built over or polluted. Bringing them back is one of the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.
Loading the map of water bodies in Guna…
- Ponds1,202
- Reservoirs3
- Check dams and percolation tanks3
- Others4
Source: 1st Census of Water Bodies, Ministry of Jal Shakti (counted in 2018-19, published 2023).
What will fix it here
Groundwater here is in balance. Keeping it that way means recharging as the area builds up and paves over.
Revive village ponds and johads
Desilting old ponds and opening their feeder channels restores natural recharge. A one-hectare pond that soaks in a metre of water over the monsoon puts back about a crore litres.
Rooftop rainwater recharge
Pipe roof water through a silt trap and filter into a recharge pit or an old borewell. Every 100 m² of roof puts back tens of thousands of litres a year, right where the pumping happens.
Recharge pits and shafts in open land
Parks, campuses, warehouse yards and road sides can take recharge shafts that reach past the clay layer, so runoff that floods streets goes down to the aquifer instead.
Check dams and contour trenches
On sloping or rocky land, small dams on seasonal streams and trenches along contours slow water down long enough for it to sink in.
Treat and reuse wastewater
Treated water from a sewage treatment plant can run flushing, gardens, cooling towers and construction, which today often draw on borewells.
Frequently asked questions
What is the groundwater level in Guna?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Guna (Madhya Pradesh) pumped out 67% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 11 points higher than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Guna over-exploited?
No. At 67% of the safe yield, Guna is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Guna?
Rooftop rainwater harvesting into recharge pits or old borewells, recharge shafts in open land, reviving ponds, check dams, treating and reusing wastewater, and moving farms to drip irrigation and less thirsty crops.
How many ponds and lakes are there in Guna?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 1,212 water bodies in Guna, including 1,202 ponds. 838 of them were not in use.
Other districts in Madhya Pradesh
Ratlam133%Indore118%Ujjain108%Shajapur105%Neemuch101%Mandsaur100%Agar Malwa93%Rajgarh89%Bhopal82%Tikamgarh80%Dewas80%Pandhurna73%Barwani71%Maihar70%Burhanpur69%Niwari67%Dhar67%Narsinghpur67%Shivpuri66%Vidisha65%Chhatarpur64%Sehore64%Satna63%Ashoknagar63%Chhindwara60%Sagar60%Damoh59%Rewa57%Jabalpur56%Mauganj53%Raisen53%Betul51%Katni47%Seoni45%Khargone45%Singrauli44%Jhabua44%Morena42%Alirajpur42%Khandwa40%Panna38%Sheopur38%Harda38%Sidhi37%Datia33%Bhind33%Gwalior33%Anuppur28%Hoshangabad27%Mandla24%Balaghat24%Umaria20%Shahdol17%Dindori14%