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 Mysuru
47%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 4 points since 2017.
310 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
660 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
90%goes to irrigation; the rest to homes and industry
Extraction since 2017
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 51.3% | 375 million m³ | 731 million m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2020 | 46.5% | 337 million m³ | 726 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 10% (375 → 337 million m³). Safe limit down 1% (731 → 726 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for homes and industry (107 → 67 million m³). |
| 2022 | 60.1% | 326 million m³ | 543 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 3% (337 → 326 million m³). Safe limit down 25% (726 → 543 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2023 | 55.3% | 312 million m³ | 564 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 4% (326 → 312 million m³). Safe limit up 4% (543 → 564 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (287 → 269 million m³). |
| 2024 | 51.6% | 320 million m³ | 620 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 3% (312 → 320 million m³). Safe limit up 10% (564 → 620 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2025 | 46.9% | 310 million m³ | 660 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 3% (320 → 310 million m³). Safe limit up 7% (620 → 660 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 Mysuru
315 of 318 water bodies (99%) 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 Mysuru…
- Tanks314
- Lakes1
- Reservoirs1
- Others2
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 Mysuru?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Mysuru (Karnataka) pumped out 47% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 4 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Mysuru over-exploited?
No. At 47% of the safe yield, Mysuru is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Mysuru?
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 Mysuru?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 318 water bodies in Mysuru, including 0 ponds. 315 of them were not in use.
Other districts in Karnataka
Kolara184%Bengaluru (Urban)177%Chikkaballapura166%Bengaluru (Rural)147%Chitradurga133%Tumakuru91%Bengaluru South91%Davanagere89%Chamarajanagara88%Vijayanagara81%Bagalkot79%Gadag75%Belagavi70%Bidar68%Mandya66%Haveri65%Hassan61%Koppal61%Dharwad57%Chikkamagaluru55%Kalburgi46%Dakshina Kannada46%Vijayapura45%Raichur44%Shivamogga42%Yadgir38%Kodagu36%Udupi33%Uttara Kannada31%Ballari25%