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 Jaisalmer
322%Over-exploited
This area pumps out 3.2 times the water that rain puts back. 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 29 points since 2017.
309 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
96.1 million m³can be taken out safely each year
213 million m³yearly shortfall drawn from stored water
87%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 | 138.0% | 94.6 million m³ | 68.4 million m³ | Over-exploited | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 249.0% | 158 million m³ | 63.6 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 67% (95 → 158 million m³). Safe limit down 7% (68 → 64 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (70 → 126 million m³). A swing this large usually comes partly from revised estimates (a new well count or changed district boundaries), not only from changes on the ground. |
| 2017 | 292.9% | 178 million m³ | 60.9 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 13% (158 → 178 million m³). Safe limit down 4% (64 → 61 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (126 → 153 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 318.6% | 271 million m³ | 85.0 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 52% (178 → 271 million m³). Safe limit up 40% (61 → 85 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (153 → 244 million m³). A swing this large usually comes partly from revised estimates (a new well count or changed district boundaries), not only from changes on the ground. |
| 2022 | 323.9% | 283 million m³ | 87.3 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 4% (271 → 283 million m³). Safe limit up 3% (85 → 87 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (244 → 256 million m³). |
| 2023 | 362.0% | 344 million m³ | 94.9 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping up 22% (283 → 344 million m³). Safe limit up 9% (87 → 95 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (256 → 304 million m³). |
| 2024 | 357.7% | 341 million m³ | 95.4 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping down 1% (344 → 341 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (95 → 95 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (304 → 300 million m³). |
| 2025 | 321.8% | 309 million m³ | 96.1 million m³ | Over-exploited | Pumping down 9% (341 → 309 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (95 → 96 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (300 → 268 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 Jaisalmer
59 of 489 water bodies (12%) 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 Jaisalmer…
- Ponds116
- Tanks367
- Lakes4
- Others2
Source: 1st Census of Water Bodies, Ministry of Jal Shakti (counted in 2018-19, published 2023).
What will fix it here
Most of the water here goes to farming, so using less on fields matters as much as recharge.
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.
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.
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 Jaisalmer?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) pumped out 322% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "over-exploited" category. That is 29 points higher than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Jaisalmer over-exploited?
Yes. Jaisalmer takes out more groundwater than rain and other sources put back, so the water table keeps falling.
How can groundwater be recharged in Jaisalmer?
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 Jaisalmer?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 489 water bodies in Jaisalmer, including 116 ponds. 59 of them were not in use.
Other districts in Rajasthan
Jodhpur255%Dausa233%Jhunjhunu228%Jaipur217%Sikar191%Nagaur187%Alwar182%Jalor178%Chittaurgarh162%Pali158%Bhilwara156%Sawai Madhopur152%Karauli149%Bikaner141%Ajmer138%Dhaulpur138%Baran135%Barmer135%Pratapgarh129%Churu129%Rajsamand121%Sirohi119%Bharatpur117%Kota111%Jhalawar106%Udaipur100%Bundi96%Tonk91%Banswara70%Hanumangarh65%Dungarpur61%Ganganagar40%