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 Satna
63%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 5 points since 2017.
341 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
541 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
90%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 | 75.0% | 395 million m³ | 530 million m³ | Semi-critical | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 72.0% | 445 million m³ | 614 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping up 13% (395 → 445 million m³). Safe limit up 16% (530 → 614 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2017 | 68.2% | 419 million m³ | 614 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 6% (445 → 419 million m³). Safe limit up 0% (614 → 614 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (397 → 376 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 64.5% | 382 million m³ | 593 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 9% (419 → 382 million m³). Safe limit down 3% (614 → 593 million m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (376 → 337 million m³). |
| 2022 | 64.0% | 426 million m³ | 665 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 11% (382 → 426 million m³). Safe limit up 12% (593 → 665 million m³). |
| 2023 | 65.6% | 453 million m³ | 690 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 6% (426 → 453 million m³). Safe limit up 4% (665 → 690 million m³). |
| 2024 | 64.2% | 476 million m³ | 741 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 5% (453 → 476 million m³). Safe limit up 7% (690 → 741 million m³). |
| 2025 | 62.9% | 341 million m³ | 541 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 28% (476 → 341 million m³). Safe limit down 27% (741 → 541 million m³). |
Million m³: 1 million m³ = 100 crore litres. 2009 and 2013 used the older GEC-97 method.
Loading 20 years of rainfall…
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 Satna?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Satna (Madhya Pradesh) pumped out 63% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 5 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Satna over-exploited?
No. At 63% of the safe yield, Satna is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Satna?
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.
Other districts in Madhya Pradesh
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