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The number of wells in Andhra Pradesh increased from eight lakhs (1 “lakh” = 100,000) in
1975 to 22 lakhs in 2002, bringing the area under groundwater irrigation from 8 lakhs ha
in 1975 to 26 lakhs ha in 2002. The reason for increased use of groundwater is due to
increased demand mainly from agriculture, apart from industrial and domestic sectors.
However, this rapid and unplanned development of groundwater resource resulted in depletion
as well as contamination, in absence of proper legislation and management. As per the
recent estimates of the AP State Ground Water Department, 9% of the state area is
categorized as over-exploited, while 6% was classed as critical and 15% as semi-critical.
Totally, 1481 villages have been classified as over exploited.
The climate of the State is semi-arid to sub-humid, receiving an average annual rainfall of
881 mm, with Rayalaseema receiving about 690 mm. Rayalaseema and the two southern
districts of Telangana and Prakasam district of Coastal Andhra face droughts frequently.
Coastal Andhra is frequently battered by cyclonic storms. It is a riverine state with 40
minor and major rivers joining the Bay of Bengal. Krishna and Godavari rivers are the
inter-state rivers and constitute almost 90% of the state’s surface water resources. Most
of the rivers are ephemeral, with monsoon runoff conditions for about 4 months. Out of the
state’s surface water resources of 108.15 billion cubic meters (bcm) (3820 tetra meter
cube (tmc)), about 62.29 bcm (2200 tmc) is being utilized. Groundwater potential is estimated
as 30.41 bcm (1074 tmc) and about 43% of the potential is being used for irrigation,
drinking water and industry. The rural areas’ drinking water requirements are mostly met
from groundwater. With per head annual water availability of about 1400 cubic meters
(cum), the state can be termed as water scarce and may become severe with the expanding
population and needs.
Agriculturally, Andhra Pradesh is a very important state in India, with significant contributions
in rice, groundnut, fruits, poultry and fish. The total food grain production of the state is
13.7 tonnes from its net sown area of 10.7 m ha (million hectares). The delta areas of
Godavari, Krishna and Pennar are agriculturally very rich due to fertile soils, canal irrigation
and enterprising farmers. About 4.4 m ha of this area is irrigated under various resources,
some of this area more than once in a year. The ultimate gross irrigation potential of the
State is estimated as about 11.2 m ha. In non-canal commands, the groundwater irrigation
is expanding rapidly. In Rayalaseema, the stage of development of groundwater is as high
as 72%. Large parts of Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Nellore, Chittoor, Warangal and
Khammam districts are under tank irrigation.
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