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 Uttara Kannada
31%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 10 points since 2017.
256 million m³pumped out each year (2025)
838 million m³can be taken out safely each year
Noneno yearly shortfall
87%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 | 36.0% | 184 million m³ | 511 million m³ | Safe | First assessment in this series. |
| 2013 | 40.0% | 208 million m³ | 525 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 13% (184 → 208 million m³). Safe limit up 3% (511 → 525 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (155 → 172 million m³). |
| 2017 | 40.2% | 248 million m³ | 617 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 19% (208 → 248 million m³). Safe limit up 17% (525 → 617 million m³). CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method. |
| 2020 | 24.4% | 224 million m³ | 918 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 10% (248 → 224 million m³). Safe limit up 49% (617 → 918 million m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures. 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 | 32.7% | 267 million m³ | 817 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 19% (224 → 267 million m³). Safe limit down 11% (918 → 817 million m³). Main reason: more water was pumped out, mostly for irrigation (190 → 236 million m³). |
| 2023 | 32.1% | 269 million m³ | 839 million m³ | Safe | Pumping up 1% (267 → 269 million m³). Safe limit up 3% (817 → 839 million m³). |
| 2024 | 32.2% | 266 million m³ | 827 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 1% (269 → 266 million m³). Safe limit down 1% (839 → 827 million m³). |
| 2025 | 30.5% | 256 million m³ | 838 million m³ | Safe | Pumping down 4% (266 → 256 million m³). Safe limit up 1% (827 → 838 million 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 Uttara Kannada
1,126 of 1,313 water bodies (86%) 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 Uttara Kannada…
- Ponds162
- Tanks1,042
- Lakes88
- Reservoirs9
- Check dams and percolation tanks1
- Others11
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 Uttara Kannada?
In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Uttara Kannada (Karnataka) pumped out 31% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "safe" category. That is 10 points lower than in 2017.
Is groundwater in Uttara Kannada over-exploited?
No. At 31% of the safe yield, Uttara Kannada is safe, though recharge is still needed as demand grows.
How can groundwater be recharged in Uttara Kannada?
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 Uttara Kannada?
The first Census of Water Bodies counted 1,313 water bodies in Uttara Kannada, including 162 ponds. 1,126 of them were not in use.
Other districts in Karnataka
Kolara184%Bengaluru (Urban)177%Chikkaballapura166%Bengaluru (Rural)147%Chitradurga133%Tumakuru91%Bengaluru South91%Davanagere89%Chamarajanagara88%Vijayanagara81%Bagalkot79%Gadag75%Belagavi70%Bidar68%Mandya66%Haveri65%Hassan61%Koppal61%Dharwad57%Chikkamagaluru55%Mysuru47%Kalburgi46%Dakshina Kannada46%Vijayapura45%Raichur44%Shivamogga42%Yadgir38%Kodagu36%Udupi33%Ballari25%