Ranga Reddy groundwater levels fall to 12.75 m below ground level

Hyderabad: Groundwater levels in Ranga Reddy district have hit a dangerous low, sounding immediate alarm bells for the region’s water security.
The latest groundwater report (October) showed the average groundwater level fell to 12.75 metres below ground level (m bgl) in October 2026, compared with 6.14 metres during the same period last year.

A senior GWD official said the district’s underground aquifers had not recovered from a weak monsoon, with the crisis compounded by a lawless surge in deep-bore drilling and unsustainable domestic consumption.
The region exhausted its natural safety net before winter peaked and now faces a vulnerable countdown to a parched summer. Thousands of domestic borewells are projected to dry up completely, forcing residents into a desperate situation, an official said.

Officials from the Ranga Reddy GWD reported that average groundwater levels fell in 27 mandals in the district in October 2026 compared with October 2025, with no mandal recording a rise. “Analysis of 84 observation wells recorded a water-level rise in two wells (2%) and a fall in 79 (98%),” said the GWD report.
Of 27 mandals in Ranga Reddy district, only Shabad recorded excess rainfall, at 6.5%, while seven received normal rainfall and the remaining 19 recorded deficits.

The deficit was 20.8% in Rajendranagar, 23% each in Madgul and Farooqnagar, 28.1% in Kandukur, 28.9% in Chowdergudem, 30.9% in Maheshwaram, 31.5% in Kadthal, 32.7% in Amangal, 33% in Kothur, 35.3% in Balapur, 36.8% in Gandipet, 37.8% in Shamshabad, 41% in Talakondapally, 41.3% in Hayathnagar, 41.9% in Manchal, 42.5% in Saroornagar, 44.6% in Ibrahimpatnam, 46.3% in Yacharam and 47.9% in Abdullapurmet.

A city-based environmentalist said Ranga Reddy district had exhausted its natural safety net before summer, with groundwater at a baseline of 12.75 m bgl entering the dry winter months. It clearly indicates that taps could run dry by March without immediate, aggressive government measures, including strict water rationing, geo-tagging of borewells, and legally mandated rainwater harvesting.

While the entire Ranga Reddy district faces a steep hydrological decline, five mandals are at the epicentre of the crisis. After losing nearly half their groundwater reserves, these hotspots face the prospect of absolute scarcity this summer.

Areas Rainfall deviation

• Abdullapurmet: (-47.9%)
• Yacharam: (-46.3%)
• Ibrahimpatnam: (-44.6%)
• Saroornagar: (-42.5%)
• Manchal: (-41.9%)