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 Tirunelveli
41%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 24 points since 2017.
324 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
790 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
97%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 | 61.0% | 650 million m³ | 1.1 billion m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 65.0% | 590 million m³ | 908 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 9% (650 → 590 million m³). Safe limit down 14% (1.1 → 0.9 billion m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. |
| 2017 | 64.6% | – | – | Safe | CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 47.8% | 287 million m³ | 601 million m³ | Safe | Down 17 points since 2017. |
| 2022 | 45.8% | 329 million m³ | 719 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 15% (287 → 329 million m³). Safe limit up 19% (601 → 719 million m³). |
| 2023 | 43.7% | 329 million m³ | 752 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 0% (329 → 329 million m³). Safe limit up 5% (719 → 752 million m³). |
| 2024 | 43.2% | 328 million m³ | 758 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 0% (329 → 328 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (752 → 758 million m³). |
| 2025 | 41.0% | 324 million m³ | 790 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 1% (328 → 324 million m³). Safe limit up 4% (758 → 790 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 Tirunelveli?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) pumped out 41% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 24 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Tirunelveli over-exploited?
No. At 41% of the safe yield, Tirunelveli is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Tirunelveli?
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.
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