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 Srikakulam
36%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 12 points since 2017.
349 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
958 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
79%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 | 29.0% | 272 million m³ | 927 million m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 38.0% | 428 million m³ | 1.1 billion m³ | Safe | Pumping up 57% (272 → 428 million m³). Safe limit up 20% (0.9 → 1.1 billion m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (231 → 383 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 | 48.2% | 495 million m³ | 1.0 billion m³ | Safe | Pumping up 16% (428 → 495 million m³). Safe limit down 8% (1.1 → 1.0 billion m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for homes and industry (45 → 87 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 23.6% | 288 million m³ | 1.2 billion m³ | Safe | Pumping down 42% (495 → 288 million m³). Safe limit up 19% (1.0 → 1.2 billion m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (408 → 196 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 | 18.9% | 176 million m³ | 934 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 39% (288 → 176 million m³). Safe limit down 23% (1.2 → 0.9 billion m³). Main reason: less water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (196 → 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. |
| 2023 | 33.3% | 283 million m³ | 847 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 60% (176 → 283 million m³). Safe limit down 9% (934 → 847 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (126 → 233 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. |
| 2024 | 35.3% | 444 million m³ | 1.3 billion m³ | Safe | Pumping up 57% (283 → 444 million m³). Safe limit up 48% (0.8 → 1.3 billion 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. |
| 2025 | 36.4% | 349 million m³ | 958 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 21% (444 → 349 million m³). Safe limit down 24% (1.3 → 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…
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 Srikakulam?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) pumped out 36% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 12 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Srikakulam over-exploited?
No. At 36% of the safe yield, Srikakulam is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Srikakulam?
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 Andhra Pradesh
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