Telangana groundwater sinks to 8.28 metres in October as the rain deficit widens to 24%; Vikarabad deepest at 13.54 metres

Telangana groundwater has slipped further after a dry October. The average water table across the State stood at 8.28 metres below ground level in October 2026, down from 7.52 metres in September, the State Ground Water Department said in its monthly report.

The fall follows a monsoon that never made up its shortfall. Between 1 June and 31 October, Telangana received 628 mm of rain against a normal of 831 mm, a gap of 24 per cent. At the end of September the gap had been 17 per cent. Only 11 of the 33 districts finished the season in the normal range; the remaining 22 were in deficit.

Vikarabad deepest, Jagtial shallowest

The department took readings from 1,771 piezometers spread over every mandal. Vikarabad recorded the deepest district average at 13.54 metres. Nine more districts were below the 10-metre mark: Sangareddy (12.93), Rangareddy (12.75), Medchal-Malkajgiri (12.67), Mahabubnagar (11.96), Medak (11.48), Yadadri Bhuvanagiri (11.12), Hyderabad (11.1), Jayashankar Bhupalpally (10.74) and Kamareddy (10.05). In these districts a borewell now has to go further down before it strikes water.

Four districts still have water within 5 metres of the surface: Jagtial (4.21), Khammam (4.34), Mahabubabad (4.48) and Mancherial (4.76). Measured by area, about 24 per cent of the State has water shallower than 5 metres, 46 per cent between 5 and 10 metres, 22 per cent between 10 and 15 metres, and nearly 8 per cent deeper than 15 metres.

Advice against paddy in Yasangi

Agriculture and Horticulture officials expect the levels to drop again in the coming months. With the power utilities, they have asked farmers to choose crops that need less water in the Yasangi (rabi) season and to leave out paddy. The government has already listed 365 mandals across 31 districts as drought-hit for the Kharif 2026 season, 111 of them in the severe category and 254 in the moderate one.

In Hyderabad, the Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has started a “Dial a green tanker” service that supplies treated water from sewage treatment plants to parks, construction sites and industrial units, and has launched the Paani app for complaints about water wastage. The Hyderabad district administration plans to take water-saving classes to schools and colleges next.