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 Saran
42%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 22 points since 2017.
425 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
1.0 billion m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
69%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% | 435 million m³ | 765 million m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 65.9% | 570 million m³ | 865 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 31% (435 → 570 million m³). Safe limit up 13% (765 → 865 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (368 → 477 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 | 63.7% | 522 million m³ | 820 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 8% (570 → 522 million m³). Safe limit down 5% (865 → 820 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 60.9% | 502 million m³ | 824 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 4% (522 → 502 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (820 → 824 million m³). |
| 2022 | 46.4% | 424 million m³ | 914 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 16% (502 → 424 million m³). Safe limit up 11% (824 → 914 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (404 → 300 million m³). |
| 2023 | 52.5% | 508 million m³ | 969 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 20% (424 → 508 million m³). Safe limit up 6% (914 → 969 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (300 → 381 million m³). |
| 2024 | 42.1% | 422 million m³ | 1.0 billion m³ | Safe | Pumping down 17% (508 → 422 million m³). Safe limit up 3% (1.0 → 1.0 billion m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (381 → 291 million m³). |
| 2025 | 42.1% | 425 million m³ | 1.0 billion m³ | Safe | Pumping up 1% (422 → 425 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (1.0 → 1.0 billion 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 Saran
116 of 1,259 water bodies (9%) 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 Saran…
- Ponds1,228
- Tanks3
- Reservoirs3
- Others25
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 Saran?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Saran (Bihar) pumped out 42% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 22 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Saran over-exploited?
No. At 42% of the safe yield, Saran is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Saran?
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 Saran?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 1,259 water bodies in Saran, including 1,228 ponds. 116 of them were not in use.
Other districts in Bihar
Jehanabad82%Nalanda76%Samastipur68%Begusarai68%Muzaffarpur65%Vaishali64%Khagaria63%Patna61%Sheikhpura59%Darbhanga58%Gopalganj57%Gaya56%Sheohar55%Siwan54%Arwal52%Bhojpur50%Nawada50%Buxar47%Bhagalpur47%Sitamarhi47%Madhubani46%Kaimur44%Banka43%Katihar43%Jamui42%Purnea38%Madhepura38%Saharsa37%Munger37%Kishanganj35%Aurangabad34%Supaul33%Lakhisarai32%West Champaran32%Rohtas30%Araria21%