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 Hisar
73%Semi-critical
Groundwater is under pressure 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. Down 31 points since 2017.
481 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
661 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
99%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 | 91.0% | 603 million m³ | 663 million m³ | Critical | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 112.0% | 783 million m³ | 702 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 30% (603 → 783 million m³). Safe limit up 6% (663 → 702 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (598 → 780 million m³). |
| 2017 | 103.6% | 663 million m³ | 640 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping down 15% (783 → 663 million m³). Safe limit down 9% (702 → 640 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (780 → 652 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 90.7% | 486 million m³ | 536 million m³ | Critical | Pumping down 27% (663 → 486 million m³). Safe limit down 16% (640 → 536 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (652 → 480 million m³). |
| 2022 | 82.5% | 535 million m³ | 648 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping up 10% (486 → 535 million m³). Safe limit up 21% (536 → 648 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2023 | 88.2% | 488 million m³ | 554 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping down 9% (535 → 488 million m³). Safe limit down 15% (648 → 554 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2024 | 88.6% | 504 million m³ | 569 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping up 3% (488 → 504 million m³). Safe limit up 3% (554 → 569 million m³). |
| 2025 | 72.7% | 481 million m³ | 661 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping down 5% (504 → 481 million m³). Safe limit up 16% (569 → 661 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
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 Hisar
295 of 1,086 water bodies (27%) 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 Hisar…
- Ponds1,084
- Tanks1
- Reservoirs1
Source: 1st Census of Water Bodies, Ministry of Jal Shakti (counted in 2018-19, published 2023).
Haryana's own survey of Hisar
Haryana mapped its ponds from satellite images in 2023, so its count differs from the census, which recorded water bodies on the ground in 2018-19. It also counts the tube wells that pump groundwater for irrigation.
2,140ponds, covering 3,619 acres
1,586other water bodies such as lakes and tanks, covering 946 acres
68,215tube wells for irrigation (17.1 per km²)
Source: Haryana Water Resources Atlas 2025, Haryana Water Resources Authority. Ponds and water bodies mapped from satellite data in 2023 (Pond Authority Haryana, HARSAC); irrigation tube wells counted in 2022-23 (Ground Water Cell, Haryana).
What will fix it here
Most of the water here goes to farming, so using less on fields matters as much as recharge.
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 Hisar?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Hisar (Haryana) pumped out 73% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "semi-critical" category. That is 31 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Hisar over-exploited?
No. At 73% of the safe yield, Hisar is semi-critical, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Hisar?
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 tube wells are there in Hisar?
The Haryana Water Resources Atlas 2025 counts 68,215 tube wells used for irrigation in Hisar district (2022-23).
How many ponds and lakes are there in Hisar?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 1,086 water bodies in Hisar, including 1,084 ponds. 295 of them were not in use.