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 Morigaon
23%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. Down 7 points since 2017.
79.4 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
344 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
70%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 | 41.0% | 282 million m³ | 691 million m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 29.0% | 182 million m³ | 622 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 35% (282 → 182 million m³). Safe limit down 10% (691 → 622 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (262 → 161 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 | 30.5% | 133 million m³ | 437 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 27% (182 → 133 million m³). Safe limit down 30% (622 → 437 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 29.9% | 130 million m³ | 436 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 2% (133 → 130 million m³). Safe limit down 0% (437 → 436 million m³). |
| 2022 | 25.2% | 131 million m³ | 519 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 0% (130 → 131 million m³). Safe limit up 19% (436 → 519 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2023 | 30.5% | 131 million m³ | 429 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 0% (131 → 131 million m³). Safe limit down 17% (519 → 429 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2024 | 35.0% | 132 million m³ | 376 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 0% (131 → 132 million m³). Safe limit down 12% (429 → 376 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2025 | 23.1% | 79.4 million m³ | 344 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 40% (132 → 79 million m³). Safe limit down 9% (376 → 344 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (108 → 56 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. |
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 Morigaon
43 of 7,803 water bodies (1%) 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 Morigaon…
- Ponds7,753
- Tanks2
- Others48
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 Morigaon?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Morigaon (Assam) pumped out 23% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 7 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Morigaon over-exploited?
No. At 23% of the safe yield, Morigaon is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Morigaon?
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 Morigaon?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 7,803 water bodies in Morigaon, including 7,753 ponds. 43 of them were not in use.