BENGALURU: Karnataka has recorded a significant decline in groundwater usage alongside a notable increase in annual recharge capacity, reflecting the impact of sustained water conservation efforts and good rainfall, said Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology Minister NS Boseraju.
Releasing the 2025 Groundwater Assessment Report on Wednesday, the Minister said the gains are a result of good rainfall, focused policy interventions, and large-scale water Conservation initiatives implemented over the past two years.
Referring to the report, the minister stated that overall groundwater extraction has reduced from 68.44% in 2024 to 66.49% in 2025, indicating more responsible and sustainable usage patterns across the state.
At the same time, annual groundwater recharge capacity has increased from 18.74 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 2024 to 19.28 BCM in 2025, while annual extractable groundwater resources rose from 16.88 BCM to 17.41 BCM.
“This simultaneous reduction in usage and increase in recharge reflects our government’s commitment to long-term water sustainability,” the minister said. The improvement has been driven largely by the expansion of Water Conservation Structures (WCS) across the state. Recharge through such structures increased by 29.11%, from 0.81 BCM to 1.04 BCM in a year.
“The report indicates improvement in groundwater status across 11 taluks, with several regions moving to safer categories. Chamarajanagar taluk has improved from ‘over-exploited’ to ‘critical’.
Similarly, taluks including Athani, Channapatna, Molakalmuru, Ranebennur, Savanur and Shiggaon have successfully transitioned from ‘semi-critical’ to ‘safe’ status. Domestic groundwater extraction has also declined by 0.58 %, dropping from 1,21,731 hectare-metres in (ham) in 2024 to 1,21,023 ham in 2025. Officials attribute this to increased reliance on surface water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM),” Boseraju stated.
Minister added that initiatives such as lake rejuvenation, year-round water supply through treated and surface water, sustained public awareness campaigns, and good rainfall have played a key role in reducing over-extraction and enhancing recharge.
“Instead of depending solely on the 120-day monsoon, we are ensuring water availability across all 365 days through scientific management. This has strengthened long-term water security for both farmers and urban residents,” he said and added that to further safeguard our resources, the department is rolling out the Digital Water Stack (DWWS) initiative. “Under this framework, we will shortly initiate space technology and AI-based satellite surveillance to obtain real-time data for continuous groundwater monitoring,” he said.