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 Tenkasi
76%Semi-critical
Groundwater is under pressure 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 14 points since 2020.
409 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
537 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
97%goes to irrigation; the rest to homes and industry
Extraction since 2020
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 90.7% | 402 million m³ | 444 million m³ | Critical | First assessment in this series. |
| 2022 | 80.0% | 396 million m³ | 494 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping down 2% (402 → 396 million m³). Safe limit up 11% (444 → 494 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2023 | 73.6% | 402 million m³ | 545 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping up 2% (396 → 402 million m³). Safe limit up 10% (494 → 545 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. |
| 2024 | 76.7% | 402 million m³ | 524 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping up 0% (402 → 402 million m³). Safe limit down 4% (545 → 524 million m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2025 | 76.2% | 409 million m³ | 537 million m³ | Semi-critical | Pumping up 2% (402 → 409 million m³). Safe limit up 2% (524 → 537 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
Most of the water here goes to farming, so using less on fields matters as much as recharge.
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 Tenkasi?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Tenkasi (Tamil Nadu) pumped out 76% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "semi-critical" category. That is 14 points lower than in 2020.
Is groundwater in Tenkasi over-exploited?
No. At 76% of the safe yield, Tenkasi is semi-critical, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Tenkasi?
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 Tamil Nadu
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