The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Groundwater abuse causes concern

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Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Groundwater abuse causes concern

Staff Reporter

Water table exploitation stands at 87 per cent

Only 70 per cent of available groundwater should be utilised: GWD
Depletion classified as ‘semi-critical’, ‘critical’, ‘over-exploitation’

SANGAREDDY: Groundwater in the district, which has been depleting at alarming levels, is being exploited.

It was estimated that 81, 319 hectametres of groundwater was available in the district and the use was counted as 70,407 hectametres. The remaining balance wasly 10,000 hectametres. The stage of development (groundwater exploitation) was estimated as 87 per cent, according to officials in the Ground Water Department (GWD).

Stipulation

However, as a precautionary measure and also to prevent further scarcity of groundwater, it was suggested that only 70 per cent of the available groundwater should be utilised. It has also been stated that seventy to ninety per cent usage of groundwater will be classified as ‘semi critical’, while 90 to 100 per cent would be termed as ‘critical’ and above 100 per cent usage would be taken as ‘over-exploitation’ of water.According to the 2001 census, there are 1,02,615 bore wells and 34,174 regular (dug) wells in the district. Officials are estimating that another 20,000 wells would be added to the lot as there was heavy ‘unofficial’ digging for water.

Watersheds

Out of the 53 drainage watersheds spread across the district, 15 are already over-exploited. Eleven of them are in critical stage and 17 are in semi-critical condition. Of the total, only10 watershed areas can be counted as being safe as exploitation levels are not alarming. At areas like Siddipet, due to the availability of groundwater, the exploitation was also reaching alarming levels. The Ground Water Department has conducted a survey for District Water Management Association (DWMA) to take up digging of bore wells under rural irrigation development funding (RIDF) programme. At least in 15 locations, the department has rejected digging of bore wells and at least in 13 places, it was pointed out by the officials concerned that the groundwater was already over-exploited.

“The groundwater in 401 villages out of the 1,265 villages of the district, was already over-exploited. The condition is critical in 246 villages. This itself accounts for nearly half of the district,” said GWD additional director S. Chandrasekhar.

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