VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh’s groundwater reserves are slipping deeper into crisis as a severely deficient southwest monsoon has failed to recharge the State’s depleted aquifers.
With rainfall nearly 48 per cent below normal so far this season, 24 of the State’s 28 districts have recorded a decline in groundwater levels compared to a year ago.
The State’s average groundwater level now stands at 35.3 feet below ground level (10.76 metres), compared with 31.2 feet (9.52 metres) on August 7, 2025, marking an overall decline of 4.1 feet, and highlighting the growing stress on agriculture, drinking water supplies and long-term water security.
The decline comes amid a sharp rainfall deficit during the ongoing southwest monsoon. The State has received only 151.82 mm rainfall between June 1 and August 7, against the normal 289.90 mm, leaving it with a 47.63 per cent deficit. All the districts received below-normal rainfall. While 23 districts were categorised as deficient, Annamayya, Chittoor and Prakasam fell under the scanty category after recording rainfall deficits of 71.59 per cent, 62.62 per cent and 60.99 per cent respectively.
The El Nino impact is visible across the entire State. Among the 24 districts that witnessed a decline in groundwater levels, Sri Sathya Sai recorded the steepest fall of 22.1 feet (6.73 metres), followed by Visakhapatnam (11.1 feet), Anantapur (10.8 feet), East Godavari (7.9 feet), Vizianagaram (6 feet) and Eluru (5.9 feet). Several other districts, including Annamayya, Chittoor, Nandyal, Kurnool, Krishna, Guntur, Kakinada, Anakapalli, Palnadu, Bapatla and NTR, also registered lower groundwater levels than a year ago. Only West Godavari and Markapuram have bucked the trend, recording improvements in groundwater levels.
Region-wise, Rayalaseema continued to record deeper groundwater level than Coastal Andhra.
The average groundwater level in Rayalaseema stood at 13.08 metres below ground level, compared with 9.84 metres in Coastal Andhra.
The region also recorded a year-on-year decline of 2.05 metres, against 0.93 metres in Coastal Andhra, indicating relatively higher stress on groundwater resources.
Groundwater reserves shrink in several dists
Groundwater availability for future use also remained low in several districts. As on August 1, 2026, Markapuram, Kadapa and Annamayya reported no groundwater available for further utilisation.
Visakhapatnam has only 1.10 TMC of groundwater available, followed by Chittoor (1.20 TMC), Prakasam (4.05 TMC), Kurnool (8.29 TMC) and Nandyal (9.51 TMC). The total groundwater available for use in the State stood at 492.39 TMC, including 415.57 TMC in Coastal Andhra and 76.81 TMC in Rayalaseema.
APWRIMS monitors groundwater levels
Groundwater levels are monitored through the Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Information & Management System (APWRIMS) with a network of 1,700 observation stations across the State. Of these, 1,582 stations are active, comprising 1,215 SWAN (Sensor-based Water Level Network) stations and 367 Encardio Rite digital monitoring stations, providing near real-time information on groundwater conditions.