Groundwater table dips in Karimnagar

Lack of adequate rainfall in the last monsoon and indiscriminate drawing of water in recent times were said to be the main reasons for depletion of the water table.

Karimnagar: The groundwater table in the district has recorded a major dip, with the water table in some areas falling by more than three meters below ground level.
The highest depletion of 4.27 metres was recorded in Chigurumamidi mandal followed by Ramadugu and Kothapalli with 3.54 metres each when compared to February last year. Lack of adequate rainfall in the last monsoon and indiscriminate drawing of water in recent times were said to be the main reasons for depletion of the water table.

However, this is after there was a huge change in the water table after the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. The groundwater table, according to officials, was recharged in a big way as all water bodies including irrigation projects, tanks and ponds were filled with water throughout the year.

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For instance, the water table rose to 4.23 metres in November 2022 from 8.04 metres in November 2017. There was an average improvement of about four metres in water levels up to 2022-2023. However, the situation has changed this year and the water table has depleted, officials point out, citing lack of rainfall, excess usage of water and lack of water in irrigation projects and other water bodies as the main reasons.

According to Groundwater department statistics, in February 2023, water was available at 7.05 metres in Chigurumamidi. However, this has fallen to 11.32 metres in February this year. Similarly, the water table has fallen to 11.85 metres from 8.31 metres in Ramadugu. In Kothapalli, it depleted to 10.65 metres from 7.11 metres. Except Choppadandi and Gangadhara mandal, almost all mandals in the district were facing groundwater depletion and scarcity.

Groundwater department officials said that expecting water from irrigation projects, which was a given during the time of the BRS government, almost all the farmers had sowed paddy in their fields. However, with no water now in irrigation projects, tanks and ponds, they were forced to draw water through borewells to protect their standing crops. As a result, the groundwater table has taken a major hit, officials said.