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Ponds and lakes · State

Ponds and lakes in Odisha

94,025ponds, out of 1,81,837 water bodies

The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 1,81,837 water bodies in Odisha. 19,630 of them were not in use and 1,048 had been encroached upon. Pick a district below to see its ponds on a map, village by village.

What the census counted in Odisha

19,630 of 1,81,837 water bodies (11%) are not in use: dried up, silted, built over or polluted. Bringing them back is one of the cheapest ways to recharge groundwater.

1,81,837ponds, tanks, lakes and other water bodies
94,025of them are ponds (52%)
89%still in use (1,62,207)
1,048encroached upon
  • Ponds94,025
  • Tanks80,671
  • Lakes579
  • Reservoirs1,606
  • Check dams and percolation tanks4,474
  • Others482

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

Ponds in each district of Odisha

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. 1Balasore16,804 water bodies, 2% not in use12,456
  2. 2Kendrapara12,509 water bodies, 8% not in use11,628
  3. 3Keonjhar8,912 water bodies, 7% not in use7,617
  4. 4Mayurbhanj15,986 water bodies, 5% not in use7,290
  5. 5Bhadrak8,334 water bodies, 26% not in use6,755
  6. 6Puri9,808 water bodies, 34% not in use5,698
  7. 7Jagatsinghpur7,957 water bodies, 37% not in use5,190
  8. 8Bolangir5,756 water bodies, 13% not in use4,578
  9. 9Kalahandi6,714 water bodies, 4% not in use3,276
  10. 10Nabarangapur9,760 water bodies, 11% not in use3,085
  11. 11Cuttack4,691 water bodies, 9% not in use3,071
  12. 12Koraput4,079 water bodies, 16% not in use2,629
  13. 13Khurda5,857 water bodies, 6% not in use2,359
  14. 14Sambalpur4,554 water bodies, 18% not in use2,032
  15. 15Rayagada3,741 water bodies, 6% not in use2,004
  16. 16Angul4,251 water bodies, 4% not in use1,669
  17. 17Subarnapur3,530 water bodies, 7% not in use1,655
  18. 18Ganjam8,632 water bodies, 9% not in use1,618
  19. 19Jajpur3,711 water bodies, 4% not in use1,402
  20. 20Gajapati2,037 water bodies, 14% not in use1,329
  21. 21Kandhamal1,594 water bodies, 6% not in use1,291
  22. 22Sundargarh3,832 water bodies, 14% not in use873
  23. 23Malkangiri6,007 water bodies, 1% not in use856
  24. 24Bargarh5,171 water bodies, 14% not in use781
  25. 25Nayagarh4,014 water bodies, 4% not in use715
  26. 26Nuapada3,337 water bodies, 2% not in use646
  27. 27Dhenkanal4,338 water bodies, 5% not in use629
  28. 28Boudh1,745 water bodies, 5% not in use503
  29. 29Deogarh1,333 water bodies, 15% not in use280
  30. 30Jharsuguda2,843 water bodies, 5% not in use110

Groundwater in Odisha

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

Groundwater level in Odisha

Bringing a pond in Odisha 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 Odisha?

The 1st Census of Water Bodies (Ministry of Jal Shakti, counted in 2018-19, published 2023) counted 94,025 ponds in Odisha, out of 1,81,837 water bodies in all.

How many lakes are there in Odisha?

The 1st Census of Water Bodies counted 579 lakes and 1,606 reservoirs in Odisha, along with 80,671 tanks.

How many water bodies in Odisha are not in use?

19,630 of the 1,81,837 water bodies (11%) were not in use when counted: dried up, silted, cut off from their catchment, polluted or built over. 1,048 had been encroached upon.

Which district of Odisha has the most ponds?

Balasore, with 12,456 ponds and 16,804 water bodies in all, according to the 1st Census of Water Bodies.

How do ponds help groundwater in Odisha?

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.