Groundwater Environment in Hyderabad, India

Hyderabad, a city with a history of more than 400 years, attracts extensive domestic and international tourists. The uncontrolled and haphazard growth of Hyderabad in the past four decades has drastically changed land use patterns, resulting in greatly reduced natural recharge to groundwater. In the recent past, Hyderabad City developed as an information technology (IT) hub. The establishment of many national and international IT companies and institutions has put tremendous pressure on the city’s groundwater resources. In March 2015, groundwater levels in most parts of the city were at an all-time low even though the city received more seasonal rain than normal. Groundwater contributes about 25–30% of the city’s total water requirement. Hyderabad has a hard-rock aquifer and reduced recharge. Extensive pumping has created water stress even at depths of the aquifer system ranging from 100 m to 300 m (CGWB, 2013). Hundreds of lakes in and around the city, which in the last few decades served as the main source of groundwater recharge, no longer exist. Over 200 water bodies within the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad Metro Development Authority have been encroached upon as water resources. The effects of urbanization and industrialization in Hyderabad have led to contamination of the aquifer. Due to an inadequate sewerage system and treatment capacity, domestic sewage and industrial effluents flow directly into streams, causing severe groundwater contamination. The Musi River, the main source of water in the area, receives estimated untreated sewage of 500 million liters a day (MLD), and more than 70% of the city’s groundwater samples show nitrate concentrations above the maximum permissible limit (MPL) of safe drinking water standards (CGWB, 2011)