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Ponds and lakes · State

Ponds and lakes in Gujarat

4,711ponds, out of 54,069 water bodies

The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 54,069 water bodies in Gujarat. 166 of them were not in use and 22 had been encroached upon. Pick a district below to see its ponds on a map, village by village.

What the census counted in Gujarat

166 of 54,069 water bodies (0%) are not in use: dried up, silted, built over or polluted. Bringing them back is one of the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.

54,069ponds, tanks, lakes and other water bodies
4,711of them are ponds (9%)
100%still in use (53,903)
22encroached upon
  • Ponds4,711
  • Tanks22,963
  • Lakes12
  • Reservoirs667
  • Check dams and percolation tanks25,667
  • Others49

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

Ponds in each district of Gujarat

Districts ranked by number of ponds. The bar shows ponds; the line under each name shows all water bodies and how many are not in use.

  1. 1Kheda1,752 water bodies, 0% not in use451
  2. 2Surat1,345 water bodies, 0% not in use431
  3. 3Ahmedabad1,964 water bodies, 3% not in use417
  4. 4Mahesana2,244 water bodies, 0% not in use379
  5. 5Bharuch2,247 water bodies, 0% not in use339
  6. 6Banaskantha3,121 water bodies, 0% not in use293
  7. 7Anand1,634 water bodies, 0% not in use284
  8. 8Patan1,897 water bodies, 0% not in use215
  9. 9Tapi1,476 water bodies, 0% not in use195
  10. 10Chhota Udepur2,209 water bodies, 0% not in use183
  11. 11Surendranagar1,149 water bodies, 0% not in use180
  12. 12Vadodara2,022 water bodies, 1% not in use153
  13. 13Rajkot2,700 water bodies, 0% not in use147
  14. 14Gandhinagar793 water bodies, 0% not in use146
  15. 15Narmada856 water bodies, 0% not in use138
  16. 16Bhavnagar1,867 water bodies, 0% not in use130
  17. 17Kachchh2,501 water bodies, 0% not in use117
  18. 18Dahod2,250 water bodies, 0% not in use95
  19. 19Panchmahal2,563 water bodies, 0% not in use93
  20. 20Arvalli1,410 water bodies, 0% not in use75
  21. 21Valsad1,770 water bodies, 0% not in use54
  22. 22Navsari1,484 water bodies, 1% not in use45
  23. 23Junagadh970 water bodies, 1% not in use44
  24. 24Amreli1,876 water bodies, 0% not in use37
  25. 25Mahisagar1,161 water bodies, 0% not in use33
  26. 26Devbhumi Dwarka934 water bodies, 0% not in use10
  27. 27Botad376 water bodies, 2% not in use9
  28. 28Gir Somnath546 water bodies, 1% not in use6
  29. 29Dang1,284 water bodies, 0% not in use5
  30. 30Sabarkantha2,107 water bodies, 0% not in use3
  31. 31Morbi1,438 water bodies, 0% not in use3
  32. 32Jamnagar1,782 water bodies, 0% not in use1
  33. 33Porbandar341 water bodies, 1% not in use0

Groundwater in Gujarat

Ponds are one way rain gets back into the ground. See how hard Gujarat is pumping its groundwater, district by district.

Groundwater level in Gujarat

Bringing a pond in Gujarat back

Most ponds that are not in use can be revived. The work is the same in a village or a city sector:

Step 1

Survey

Map the pond's full original area, its inlets and its catchment, and record encroachments and sewage outfalls.

Step 2

Desilt

Dig out the silt that has sealed the bed, so water soaks into the ground again instead of evaporating.

Step 3

Reconnect

Clear and line the channels that bring rain in, with a silt trap before the pond; divert sewage away from it.

Step 4

Recharge

Add recharge shafts or wells in the bed where the soil is tight, so water reaches the aquifer faster.

Step 5

Protect

Fence or plant the banks, mark the boundary and hand upkeep to the panchayat or residents' body.

Talk to TerraSetu about a pondPond rejuvenation: cost and processOther ways to recharge

Frequently asked questions

How many ponds are there in Gujarat?

The 1st Census of Water Bodies (Ministry of Jal Shakti, counted in 2018-19, published 2023) counted 4,711 ponds in Gujarat, out of 54,069 water bodies in all.

How many lakes are there in Gujarat?

The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 12 lakes and 667 reservoirs in Gujarat, along with 22,963 tanks.

How many water bodies in Gujarat are not in use?

166 of the 54,069 water bodies (0%) were not in use when counted: dried up, silted, cut off from their catchment, polluted or built over. 22 had been encroached upon.

Which district of Gujarat has the most ponds?

Kheda, with 451 ponds and 1,752 water bodies in all, according to the 1st Census of Water Bodies.

How do ponds help groundwater in Gujarat?

A working pond holds rain long enough for it to soak into the ground and refill wells and borewells nearby. A silted or encroached pond sends that rain down the drain instead. Desilting, reopening inlets and adding recharge shafts in the pond bed are among the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.