HYDERABAD: Hyderabad’s groundwater reserves have taken a sharp hit over the past year, with levels across large parts of the city now considerably lower than they were a year ago.
The latest assessment of the Telangana Ground Water Department (TGWD) shows that groundwater levels in the Core Urban Region (CURE) — Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) — were 6.85 metres lower in September 2026 than in September 2025. The decline comes despite a marginal improvement of 0.42 metre from the pre-monsoon level recorded in May.
That small seasonal recovery, however, has done little to close the gap created over the past year.
The main problem has been rainfall. The Hyderabad region received just 457 mm against the normal 619 mm during the 2026-27 water year up to September 30 — a deficit of 26%. The shortfall was even greater in several mandals, ranging from 21% to 49%.
Of the 46 mandals monitored by the TGWD, 33 recorded deficient rainfall. The deficit in the Hyderabad region is also considerably higher than the 17% recorded for the state as a whole.
The effect is beginning to show in the groundwater readings. Levels fell by another 0.38 metre in September compared with August. More importantly, the year-on-year decline of 6.85 metres indicates that the water that has entered the ground during the monsoon has not been enough to make up for the fall recorded over the previous year.
The numbers also show how uneven the situation is across the metropolitan region.
The TGWD assessment is based on readings from 107 piezometers spread across 46 mandals. The average groundwater level was 11.58 metres below ground level (mbgl), but individual locations showed a dramatic difference.
At Miyapur village in Serilingampally mandal, groundwater was found at just 1.35 metres below ground level. At Kukatpally, it was 47.23 metres below ground level.
Several of the areas where deeper groundwater has been recorded are also among the rapidly urbanising parts of the metropolitan region. These include parts of Kukatpally, Ameerpet, Serilingampally, Bachupally, Quthbullapur, Dundigal, Medipally, Saroornagar, Hayathnagar, Rajendranagar and Shankarpally.
The overall distribution of groundwater levels gives a clearer picture of just how deep the reserves are across much of CURE. Groundwater is available at less than five metres below ground level in only around 2% of the area. Another 22% has levels between 5 and 10 metres.
The largest share — 46% of the region — has groundwater between 10 and 15 metres below ground level. A further 24% lies in the 15-20 metre range, while groundwater in 6% of the area is deeper than 20 metres.
In other words, groundwater at a depth of 10 metres or more is now the norm across much of Hyderabad’s urban belt.
With rainfall still below normal across a large part of the region, the latest readings leave little room for the seasonal improvement seen after the monsoon to be mistaken for a broader recovery. The year-on-year figures show that the groundwater position remains considerably weaker than it was a year ago.