State

Groundwater level in Punjab

Name: Groundwater extraction in Punjab, 2009–2025
Creator: Central Ground Water Board

156%Over-exploited

This area pumps out 1.6 times the water that rain puts back. 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 9 points since 2017.

26.3 billion m³pumped out each year (2025)

16.8 billion m³can be taken out safely each year

9.5 billion m³yearly shortfall drawn from stored water

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	170.0%	34.7 billion m³	20.4 billion m³	Over-exploited	First assessment in this series.
2013	149.0%	34.8 billion m³	23.4 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 0% (34.7 → 34.8 billion m³). Safe limit up 15% (20.4 → 23.4 billion m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures.
2017	165.8%	35.8 billion m³	21.6 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping up 3% (34.8 → 35.8 billion m³). Safe limit down 8% (23.4 → 21.6 billion m³). Main reason: less water soaked back in, from weaker rain, less canal seepage or more paved ground. CGWB changed its method in 2017 (GEC-97 to GEC-2015), so part of this change comes from the new method.
2020	164.4%	33.9 billion m³	20.6 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 5% (35.8 → 33.9 billion m³). Safe limit down 5% (21.6 → 20.6 billion m³).
2022	166.0%	28.0 billion m³	17.1 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 17% (33.9 → 28.0 billion m³). Safe limit down 17% (20.6 → 17.1 billion m³).
2023	163.8%	27.8 billion m³	17.0 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 1% (28.0 → 27.8 billion m³). Safe limit down 1% (17.1 → 17.0 billion m³).
2024	156.9%	27.7 billion m³	17.6 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 1% (27.8 → 27.7 billion m³). Safe limit up 4% (17.0 → 17.6 billion m³). Main reason: more water soaked back into the ground, from better rain, canals or recharge structures.
2025	156.4%	26.3 billion m³	16.8 billion m³	Over-exploited	Pumping down 5% (27.7 → 26.3 billion m³). Safe limit down 5% (17.6 → 16.8 billion m³).

Million m³: 1 million m³ = 100 crore litres. 2009 and 2013 used the older GEC-97 method.

Rainfall, last 20 years

Yearly rain at Punjab, 2006–2025, from NASA satellite data. Lighter bars are dry years (20% or more below average), when wells are drawn hardest.

What it takes to refill

To stop the water table falling, Punjab has to put back or save 9.5 billion m³ a year. At 793 mm of rain, here is what that looks like:

14,92,74,906roofs of 100 m² with recharge pits (63,440 L each a year)

23,884 km²of land draining into recharge structures that capture half the rain

14.5 billion m³less pumping a year to reach the 70% safe mark, if nothing else changes

In practice it is a mix: recharge in towns, ponds and check dams in villages, and saving water on farms and in factories.

Your building: how much can you recharge?

Roof or yard area (m²)SurfaceYearly rainfall (mm)

Water you can put back each year1,34,810 L≈ 13 water tankers of 10,000 L

1 mm of rain on 1 m² is 1 litre. The surface factor allows for water lost to splash, evaporation and first-flush.

Loading 20 years of rainfall…

Ponds and lakes in Punjab

8,332 of 16,012 water bodies (52%) are not in use: dried up, silted, built over or polluted. Bringing them back is one of the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.

16,012ponds, tanks, lakes and other water bodies

15,064of them are ponds (94%)

48%still in use (7,680)

1,578encroached upon

Ponds15,064
Tanks589
Lakes151
Reservoirs31
Check dams and percolation tanks36
Others141

Source: 1st Census of Water Bodies, Ministry of Jal Shakti (counted in 2018-19, published 2023).

All about the ponds and lakes in Punjab, district by district

What will fix it here

Most of the water here goes to homes and industry, so rooftop recharge and reuse make the biggest difference.

Recharge · start here

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.

Recharge · start here

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

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.

Use less

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.

Recharge

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.

Use less

Meter borewells and fix leaks

Metered and registered borewells, leak repairs in supply lines and water-efficient fixtures cut pumping without anyone going short.

Frequently asked questions

What is the groundwater level in Punjab?

In the 2025 Central Ground Water Board assessment, Punjab pumped out 156% of the groundwater that can be safely taken out each year, which puts it in the "over-exploited" category. That is 9 points lower than in 2017.

Is groundwater in Punjab over-exploited?

Yes. Punjab takes out more groundwater than rain and other sources put back, so the water table keeps falling.

How can groundwater be recharged in Punjab?

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 Punjab?

The first Census of Water Bodies counted 16,012 water bodies in Punjab, including 15,064 ponds. 8,332 of them were not in use.

Districts of Punjab

Stage of extraction in 2025, most over-pumped first.