For Official Use Only

CENTRAL GROUND WATER BOARD

MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

GROUND WATER BROCHURE

HYDERABAD DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH

SOUTHERN REGION
HYDERABAD
September 2013
 CENTRAL GROUND WATER BOARD
MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

GROUND WATER BROCHURE

HYDERABAD DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH
(AAP-2012-13)

BY

RAVI KUMAR GUMMA

SCIENTIST-C

SOUTHERN REGION BHUJAL BHAWAN,

GSI Post, Bandlaguda NH.IV, FARIDABAD -121001
Hyderabad-500068 HARYANA, INDIA
Andhra Pradesh Tel: 0129-2418518
Tel: 040-24225201 Gram: Bhumijal
Gram: Antarjal
 HYDERABAD DISTRICT AT A GLANCE

1 GENERAL Location North Latitude

East Longitude
Geographical area 186 sq.km

Headquarters Hyderabad

No. of mandals 16
No. of villages Nil
Population (2001) 36.33 lakhs
Population density 19532/Sq.km
Major rivers Musi
Geology Granites,
gneisses
Soils Red loamy
Agroclimatic zone 10
Zone Southern
Telangana zone

2 RAINFALL Normal annual Total 810 mm

rainfall
Annual Rainfall 779 mm
(2012)

3 LAND USE Agriculture 4.3

(Area in Sq.kms)
Build up Area 168
(Residential)
Build up Area 3.8
(Industrial)
Open Grass land/ 0.4
Tree cover area
Waste Land 1.07
Water Bodies 8.7
4 GEOLOGY Major rock types Granites, Granite
Gniesses and
Alluvium

5 GROUND WATER Exploration by No. of wells 10

CGWB drilled

Major aquifer 25-100 m &

zones 156-173 m

Aquifer parametres Transmissivity 11 to 202

(sq.m/day)
Monitoring No. of 17
 observation
wells
Piezometers 17
Dug wells Nil
Digital Nil
recording
Range of water levels Minimum 4
(May 2012) (m bgl)

Maximum 23.50
( m bgl)

General range 5 to 10
( m bgl)

6 CHEMICAL Electrical 440 to 2520

QUALITY Conductivity
(micro Siemens
/ cm at 25 deg.
C)
Chloride 39 to 553
Fluoride 0.32 to 3.4
Nitrate 18 to 300
 GROUND WATER BROCHURE
HYDERABAD DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH

1.0 Introduction:

Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, founded in the year 1591 by Mohammed Quli
Qutub Shah, offers a fascinating panorama of the past, with richly mixed cultural and
historical tradition spanning over 400 years. Soon after India gained independence,
Hyderabad state merged with the union of India in the year 1948. On November 1, 1956 the
map of India was redrawn into linguistic states and Hyderabad became the capital of Andhra
Pradesh. Hyderabad centrally located on the top of the Deccan Plateau presently is one of the
fastest growing cities of India and has emerged as a strong industrial, commercial, technology
centre and occupies prime position in India. Secunderabad is a distinct unit physically
separated from Hyderabad city by a lake called Hussain Sagar Lake.Hyderabad city is
situated between 17°22' N latitude and 78°27' E longitude with an elevation of 525 m amsl.
The Hyderabad urban agglomeration (HUA) is the sixth largest in India and is spread over an
area of 778 sq.kms comprising Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), ten peripheral
municipalities, Secunderabad cantonment and Osmania University. The Hyderabad
Metropolitan area covers an area of 1905 sq. km under the jurisdiction of Hyderabad Urban
Development Authority (HUDA) covering toposheet nos. 56 K/6, 7, 10, 11 and 12. The
administrative map of Hyderabad district is shown in the Fig.1. Hyderabad is one of the
fastest growing metropolitan cities with a decadal growth rate of 32%. The growth of
population was more than 50% during 1981-91 and 27% during 1991-2001.

Fig-1: Administrative Map of Hyderabad District

2.0 Physiography & Drainage

The area has undulating topography with elevation ranging from 460 to 560 m amsl. The
main geomorphic units are residual Hills, pediment inselbergs, pediplains and valley fills.
The River Musi, with a gradient of 2 m per kms flows from west to east and most of the
streams are ephemeral in nature. The soils are mostly of red lateritic, yellow sandy-clay
loams and alluvial black soils. The thickness of the soil cover ranges from 0.5 m to 2.0 m.
Fig-2 Drainage – Hyderabad District Fig-3 Drainage – Hyderabad District

3.0 The land use

The Land use pattern indicates the changing pattern of land use over the years. It shows
increase in residential, commercial at the expense of vacant and agricultural land. The
drainage of Hyderabad district is shown Fig -3 and Table-3.

Table-3 Land Use pattern of Hyderabad District

Land Use Pattern Area (Sq.kms)

Agriculture 4.3
Build up Area (Residential) 168
Build up Area (Industrial) 3.8
Open Grass land/ Tree cover
area 0.4
Waste Land 1.07
Water Bodies 8.7
Total 186.27
The urban sprawl (built-up area) has occurred at an annual rate of 3.77 per cent during 1973-
83, 4.95 per cent during 1983-91 and 2.37 per cent during 1991-96. Agricultural land to the
extent of about 128sq.km was converted to residential, commercial, institutional and
industrial purposes during this period (EPTRI, 1996: 23; The Hindu, 25 January 1997).
Another study indicates that the urban built-up area has increased from 49.3 to 62.4 % of the
total geographical area.

To address the negative effects emanating from the uncontrolled and haphazard
growth, the first development plan for the corporation area of Hyderabad was prepared and
notified in 1975. The land use survey had covered an area of 194.11 sq. km (larger than
MCH/Hyderabad district) covering 172.60 sq, km of city area (MCH) and 21.52 sq km of
peripheral area which was envisaged to be urbanized in due course. The Land use pattern
during 1975 and 2008 are shown in Table-3 (i) and (ii) respectively.

Table: 3 (i) Land use Pattern - 1975

Sl. No Land Use Area in Ha Area in Ha % to total area
1 Residential 2694 13.88
2 Commercial 147 0.76
3 Industrial 306 1.57
4 Recreational 771 3.97
5 Public and Semi-public 1016 5.23
6 Transport and Communications 1295 6.67
7 Vacant 7633 39.32
8 Agricultural 3462 17.84
9 Other 2089 10.76
Total 19411 100
Source: Development Plan for Hyderabad, 1975

Table-3(ii) Land use Pattern -2008

Sr. No Land Use Area in %
(ha)
1 Residential 7635 44.24
2 Commercial 1270 7.36
3 Mixed 749 4.34
4 Industrial (Including manufacturing, small scale, household, 425 2.46
garages etc)
5 Public Semi Public 1555 9.01
6 Parks & Playgrounds 1175 6.81
7 Vacant lands, open lands, Rocks & Hills 273 1.58
8 River, Lakes, Nalahs, Kuntas 1075 6.23
9 Agriculture & Gardens etc 104 0.6
10 Transportation & Communication (Including Roads & 1864 10.8
Circulation, streets, alleys, Airport, Bus Stations/Depots, Rly
Tracks/Stns)
11 Defence 834 4.83
12 Burial Grounds Crematoria etc 300 1.74
13 Total 17259 100
(Source: Master Plan of HMDA (MCH Area))
4.0 Hydrometeorology

Hyderabad experiences the semi arid tropical climatic conditions. The average annual rainfall
is 810 mm. The south west monsoon contributes 74% of annual rainfall and north east
monsoon contributes 14%. The temperatures reaches 45º C during the summer season and
with the onset of monsoons during June the temperature drop and varies between 26º C to 38º
C.

4.1 Rainfall Analysis

The nearest IMD rain gauge station to the study area is Hyderabad. The mean annual rainfall
is 884 mm recorded in 50 rainy days. The contribution of seasonal rainfall is 607 mm (69%),
146 mm (17%) and 130 mm (15%) in southwest (June-Sept), northeast (Oct-Dec) and non-
monsoon (Jan-May) respectively. The coefficient of variation of annual rainfall, which
indicates the dependability of rainfall, is 24%, which is not very high. Monthly rainfall ranges
from 9 mm in December to 197 mm in August. July and August are the rainiest months of the
year. About 40% of the annual rainfall is contributed by these two months. The variation of
monthly rainfall ranges from 45% in June to 138% in December. The unpredictability of
rainfall is clearly observed as these values are very high. Out of 40 years, 5 are excess years,
10 are deficit years and 25 are normal years of rainfall. As per the IMD, normal year is when
departure from normal is –19% to +19%, deficit year is when departure from normal is –20%
to –59% and excess year is when the departure from normal is greater than 60%. The annual
distribution of rainfall and cumulative departure of annual rainfall are depicted in the Fig.4 &
5 respectively. The Fig.4 shows a clear rising trend in the rainfall, which is 3.6mm per year.
During the period 1971-2010, highest rainfall occurred in 1978, which is 42% more than
normal and lowest annual rainfall has occurred in 1972, which is 53% less than normal.
Annual rainfall during 2012 is 779 mm.

Fig.4 Annual distribution of rainfall with moving average and trend

 Fig: 5 Cumulative departure of annual rainfall from normals

5.0 Water Supply & Sewerage System

The Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS & SB) is providing piped
water supply from surface water resource. The indicators of water supply positions are as
shown in the Table-4

Table-4 Indicators of water supply positions.

Indicators MCH/Hyderabad
district
Total Population 36.33 lakhs
Slum Population 14.1 lakhs
Network Coverage 90%
% Access to piped 70%
water supply
Average Per capita 162 lpcd
Supply
Duration of supply 2 hours alternate day

Surface Water

The River Musi originates from Anantagiri hills in Vikarabad area of Ranga Reddy district
and flows 70 kilometers before entering into the reservoirs of Osman Sagar and Himayat
Sagar in Hyderabad. Apart from the River Musi, Hyderabad was endowed with a number of
natural and artificial lakes which includes Hussain Sagar, Mir Alam tank, Afzal Sagar,
Jalpalli, Ma-Sehaba Tank, Talab Katta, Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, Saroor Nagar Lake.

5.1 Storm Water Drainage

The drainage system in Hyderabad comprises of natural and man-made drains and water
bodies that ultimately discharge surface run-off into River Musi and Hussain Sagar.
Numerous lakes and nallahs constituting the major storm water drainage system. The nallahs
are the major carriers of storm water finally disposing into the river and water bodies in the
catchment. Currently, storm water drains in the city are constructed and maintained by the
Municipal Corporation.

5.2 Flood Prone Areas in Hyderabad

Low Coverage, Low Capacity, Lack of integrated drainage plan, Encroachments are resulting
in flooding and inundation. The major flood prone areas in twin cities are the low lying areas
in the catchment areas of Hussain Sagar, Saroornagar Tank, Erra kunta etc. The areas include
the catchment of Balkapur Channel, Kukatpalli Nallah, surplus nallah of Hussainsagar
covering Kavdiguda, Domalguda, Ashok Nagar, Himayat Nagar. In addition, the low lying
areas Bhavani Nagar, Ganga Nagar, Begumpet, Madulguda, Langar Houz witnessed flooding
in 2000 warranting immediate interventions to effectively contain the damage. The most
important lakes that impact the storm water drainage are Hussain Sagar, Osman Sagar,
Himayat Sagar, Saroor Nagar lake, Safilguda Lake,Banda Cheruvu, LangarHouz Lake, Kapra
Lake, Mir Alam tank and Few Other Category -1 Lakes.

6.0 Geology

Hyderabad forms part of the Pre-Cambrian peninsular shield and is underlain by the
Archaean crystalline complex, comprising Pink and grey granites and granite gneisses. A thin
veneer of alluvium of Recent age occurs along the Musi River. This undulating terrain is
punctuated by granite hillocks and mounds. Several dykes intrude the granite, and some of
these dykes form linear ridges. Many of these hills and ridges (for example in Banjara Hills,
Shaikpet, Malkajgiri and Addagutta areas) are intervened by low-lying areas and drained by
minor streams. The Granites exhibit structural features such as fractures, joints, faults and
fissures. WNW - ESE and ENE-WSW, NE-SW trending structures are tensional in nature
while NW-SW& NW-SE structures are shears in type.

7.0 Hydrogeology

Ground water occurs under phreatic conditions in weathered zone and under semi-confined to
confined conditions in the fractured zones. The piezometric elevations in northern part vary
from 500 to 563 m amsl with steep gradient in NE direction. In southern part, the piezometric
elevation is between 470 and 520 m amsl with gentle gradient towards Musi River (Fig-6).
Ground water was exploited through shallow, large diameter dug wells until 1970 to meet
domestic and irrigation requirements. Presently ground water is being exploited through
shallow and deep bore wells with depth ranging from 100-300 m.
Fig.6 Hydrogeology – Hyderabad district
More than 97% of the area is underlain by the Archaean group of rocks consisting of mostly
pink and grey granites and the remaining 3% of the area is underlain by the Alluvium.
Accordingly two aquifer systems exist in the area, i.e Aquifers of the granites and Aquifers of
Alluvium, though alluvial aquifers are insignificant.

7.1 Crystalline Aquifers

The aquifers are of anisotropic and non-homogenous type resulting in different

hydrogeological conditions within the shorter distances depending upon degree and intensity
of fracture and recharge conditions. The thickness of the weathered zone varies from 5-25 m
(Fig.7) and yield ranges from negligible to 5 lps. High density of shallow fractures (Fig.8)
are observed in the eastern, western and northern parts of the area while moderate to low
density fractures are observed in central part in the main city area. In general, the shallow
fractures are more productive than the deeper ones. But, in some locations in the western
parts, the deeper fractures (127 m & 172 m) are more productive (6 lps at Film Nagar and 10
lps at Borabanda).

Fig.7 Thickness of the weathered Zone Fig-8 Occurrence of shallow fractures

The depth to water level ranges from 3.30 m (Manikeswarinagar) to 56.3 m in (Film
nagar).The yield of wells varies from 0.21 to 6.9 lps with drawdown of 6 to 20.6 m. The
specific capacities of the bore wells range between 10.0 lpm/m (New Boiguda) to 72 lpm/m
(Borabanda) and the Transmissivity of the aquifers ranges between 0.48 and 202 sq.m/day.
 7.2 Alluvial Aquifers

The alluvial formations occur as isolated patches along the Musi River. It consists of medium
to fine grained sand, silt with thickness varies from few meters to about 5 meters. Ground
Water occurs under phreatic conditions. The ground water used to be developed through large
diameter dug wells, but presently not in practice due to the contamination of the pollutants
from the Musi effluents

7.3 Ground Water Levels

The depth to water levels in general varies between 5 and 20 m and average water level is 12
m. The depth to water level during pre-monsoon period varies from 5 m to 20 m bgl, whereas
during post monsoon periods it varies from 2 m to 15 m bgl (Fig.9&10). In the core area of
Hyderabad, pre-monsoon water level ranges from 6.10 (Erra Manzil) to 17.33 m (Nampalli)
and the post monsoon water level ranges from 1.40 m (Alwal) to 9.42 m (West Maredpalli)
and from 8.65 (Tarnaka) to 18 m (Kothapaet). In Secunderabad area, pre-monsoon water
levels ranges from 7.26 m (Bolarum) to 23.40 m (West Maredpalli) and post- monsoon water
level ranges from 2.40 m (Bolarum) to 9.5 m (West Maredpalli). In the peripheral areas of
Hyderabad, the pre-monsoon water level ranges from 1.98 (Ahmedguda) to 7.7 m
(Patancheru) and post monsoon water level ranges from 2.90 (Kokapet) to 6.7 (Suraram). The
population density and associated ground water draft guide the occurrence of water levels at
deeper depths. In many places of the city the depth to water level exceeds 20m during pre
and post monsoon periods where population density is dense (Boinpalli, Kothapet, Sanath
Nagar etc).

Table-5 Details of ground water exploration

S.No Location Topography Hydro-geological set-up Other S.W.L Q T Quality

Weathered Fracture Information (m) (lpm) (m2/day)
Depth zones
Potential deep fracture rock
1 BJR (film) Topographic Nil 61-63, Massive rock in 56.35 216 31 Not potable, high F
nagar High 127-128 recharge area
2 Borabanda Topographic Nil 172-173 Near major E-W 25 574 202 Not potable, high F
High lineament and
intersecting N-S
block joints
Moderately potential weathered &fractured rock
3 Manikeswari Moderately 18.8 24-25 Recharge area 3.30 357 63 Not potable
Nagar sloping ground
4 Krishna Topographic 13.7 50,51, 68- Upstream 12.35 314 59 Potable
Nagar low 70, 77
5 Lower Tank Moderately 14.7 34-35, 56- Close to 13.4 225 9
bund sloping ground 57, 71-72 contaminated
drainage course
6 New 7.1 9-10, 18- Recharge area 5.34 240 11 Potable
Boiguda 19, 25-26,
156-157
Massive rock with very poor yield
7 Rehmat Topograhic nil nil Massive rock in 14 0.87 Not Potable
Nagar high recharge area
8 Sanath Moderately 5.5 nil Massive rock 19.3 0.666 Potable
Nagar sloping ground
Less potential rock with minor fractures
9 Sultan Bazar Moderately 11 80-82 Low recharge area, 11 60 6
sloping ground massive rock
10 Gowliguda Topographic 8.0 11-12, In Musi River 8.6 60 0.48
low 130-132, Island
156-158
The high draft in dense urban agglomerations has resulted in drying up of shallow hand
pumps (Miyapur, Kukatpalli, Chanda Nagar, Dilsukhnagar, Sanath Nagar, Madhapur etc).
The depth to water levels are shallow in adjacent to the surface water bodies (Lower
tankbund, Kapra, Safilguda, etc). The water levels are moderate at (5-7 m) at peripheral
areas, semi-urban agglomerations. The deeper water levels can be attributed to ground water
draft for irrigation purposes.

The water levels are depleted over the years at many areas like Kothapet, Moulali,
Kukatpalli, Boinpalli, Aghapura, Erragadda, Bashherbagh, Langar house, Jubilee hills,
Begumpet, Koti, West Maredpalli, Gudimalkapur, Mushherabad, Sanath nagar, Picket and
Madhapur (Fig-11).

Fig-9 Depth to Water levels (Pre-Monsoon)

 Fig-10 Depth to Water levels (Post-Monsoon)

However, there is a substantial increase of ground water levels in most of the localities of
Hyderabad due to the high precipitation received after 2008. This is not observed in localities
like Khairatabad, Humayun Nagar and Nampally, Sanath Nagar etc.

Fig-11 Hydrographs of select monitoring wells in City Core area

8.0 Ground Water Resources

The dynamic ground water resources (2009) of Hyderabad has been estimation and the
details are given in the Table-6.

Table-6 Ground Water Resources of Hyderabad District (GEC-2009)

Ground Ground Ground Stage of
Water Water Water Development Category
Availability Utilization Balance (%)
ha.m ha.m ha.m
1400 12099 -10699 864 OE

9.0 Ground Water Quality

The effects of urbanization and industrialization in Hyderabad led to the contamination of

ground water. Due to inadequate sewerage system and treatment capacities, the domestic
sewerage and industrial effluents are letting directly into the nalas and streams, causing
severe ground water contamination. The concentration of chemical constituents in ground
water at different locations is presented in Fig.12. The Nitrate (NO3) content is more than
permissible limits of BIS drinking water standards in 72 % of samples at Moosapet, Alwal,
Kutubshahi tombs, Tarnaka, Amberpet, Moosarambagh, Lalapet, Nallakunta, Secunderabad,
Kavadiguda, Ranigunj, Gosha Mahal, Golconda fort, Langar house, Tolichowki, Sanath
Nagar, Tadbund, Chandrayangutta(Fig.13&14). The general range of chemical constituents in
ground water in pre and post monsoon periods is furnished in the Table-7 & 8.

Fig -12 Water Quality Parameters in Hyderabad district : Post-monsoon

 Fig-13 Nitrate in ground water :Pre-monsoon Fig-14 Nitrate in ground water :Post-monsoon

Table-7 General range of Chemical Constituents in Ground Water (Pre- monsoon) of Hyderabad
% of samples with

below permissible

acceptable range
permissible limit

permissible limit

permissible limit

permissible limit
No. of samples

No. of samples

No. of samples
in permissible
No.of samples

No.of samples
No. of sample

% of samples
constituent

with in the
Maximum
Minimum
Chemical

analyzed
Average

beyond

beyond

beyond
with in

limit

limit

PH 6.95 8.2 7.6 59

EC 440 (Alwal) 2520 (Shanti nagar, Uppal) 1066 57 57 100 0 0 15 (<750) 42 (750-3000)
TH 125 (Bolarum) 820 (Shanti nagar, Uppal) 268 59 57 97 2 3 17 (<200) 40 (200-600) 2 (>600)
Ca 24 (Nampalli) 160 (Shanti nagar, Uppal) 59 59 59 100 0 0 48 (<75) 11 (75-200)
Mg 3.6 (Abids) 102 (Shanti nagar, Uppal) 29.5 59 37 63 22 37 37 (<30) 22 (<30)
Cl 39 (Alwal) 553 (Shanti nagar, Uppal) 151 58 58 100 0 0 52 (<250) 6 (250-1000)
SO4 10.84 (Amberpet) 253 (Shanti nagar, Uppal) 68 59 59 100 0 0 58 (<200) 1 (200-400)
NO3 Jubilee Hills (1.86) 300 (IDA Uppal) 54 59 40 68 19 32 40 (<45) 19 (>45)
F 0.32 (Sanath Nagar) 3.4 (Nacharam) 1.09 59 47 80 12 20 31 (<1) 16 (1.0-1.5) 12 (>1.5)

Table-8 General range of Chemical Constituents in Ground Water (Post- monsoon) of Hyderabad
No. of samples with
beyond permissible

beyond permissible

beyond permissible
in permissible limit

in permissible limit
No.of samples with

% of samples with

below permissible

in the acceptable
No. of samples

No. of samples
No.of samples
No. of sample

% of samples
constituent

Maximum
Minimum
Chemical

analyzed
Average

range
limit

limit

limit

limit

pH 7.2 (Nacharam) 8.5 (Gachubowli) 7.8 54

EC 400 (Saifabad) 2270 (Balanagar) 1037 54 54 100 0 0 15 (<750) 39 (7503000)
TH 120 (Champapet) 700 (Nacharam) 252 54 53 98 1 2 18 (<200) 35 (200-600) 1 (>600)
Ca 16 (Gachubowli) 222 (Nacharam) 59.7 54 53 98 1 2 40 (<75) 13 (75-200) 1 (>200)
Mg 2 (Alwal) 57 (Kukatpalli) 25 54 39 72 15 28 39 (<30) 15 (>30)
Cl 25 (Mehdipatnam) 429 (Nacharam) 132.4 54 54 100 0 0 50 (<250) 4 (250-1000)
SO4 0.05 (Gachubowli) 211.2 (IDA, Uppal) 58.3 54 54 100 0 0 53 (<200) 1 (200-400)
NO3 3 (Abids) 300 (IDA, Uppal) 66 54 30 56 24 44 30 (<45) 24 (>45)
F 0.20 (IDA, Uppal) 2.30 (Amberpet) 1.03 54 45 83 9 17 30 (<1) 15 (1.0-1.5) 9 (<1.5)
Nine Industrial Development Areas (IDAs) spread over the city intermingling with large
residential colonies. Industries discharging effluents containing heavy metal wastes are
located in the IDAs. Ground water samples were collected from IDAs and analysed for heavy
metals viz. Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Bi, Fe and Mn. The heavy metals Fe and Mn have
been detected in the ground water in and around IDA with concentration in some wells
exceeding the BIS maximum permissible limit (MPL). Lead, Nickel, Zinc and Cadmium
were detected in the IDAs of Balanagar, Sanatnagar & Jeedimetla. Lead and Cadmium were
beyond the MPL in some of the samples (Table-9).
Table – 9 Heavy Metals detected in Ground Water in Industrial Agglomerations

Sl No Industrial Area Nature of Industry Metals detected beyond Remarks

permissible limits
1 Katedan Metallurgical, food Fe, Cd, Mn, Ni Notified by
processing, plastic CPCB
2 Nacharam Foundries, fabrication Ni, Cd, Fe, Mn
3 Jeedimetla- Metallurgical, food Fe, Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr
Balanagar processing,
pharmaceutical, paints

10.0 Ground Water Related Issues

10.1 Extinct/shrinkage of tanks

The existing surface water bodies are diminishing because of inconsiderate development of
the city and its surroundings. Initially, the city has 25 tanks and with the progressive
urbanization, some of the tanks within the city and surroundings were disappeared (Masab
tank, Nallakunta) or their sizes got reduced due to unabated human encroachments (Saroor
Nagar tank) or the inflows into the tanks got reduced due to inconsiderate management of
Catchment areas (Osman sagar, Himayat sagar) or affected by pollution (Kukatpalli Nala,
Hussain sagar, Miralam tank etc). Many water channels that used to carry floodwaters from
one lake to the next in a catchment area, have also been encroached by private agencies. This
has resulted in direct consequence in natural ground water recharge and its quality. As per the
study by JNTU, there is a continuous decrease in inflows in water supply reservoirs like
Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar for the past 36 years though there is no change in normal
rainfall pattern in these years, due to urbanisation.

10.2 Reduction in Recharge

During the last 4 decades there was an increase of residential area (10-44 %) and reduction of
vacant land (38 to 2 %) and open spaces, parks and play grounds together account 6.81%
only. The area under transport and communication also increased from 6.67% to 10.87 %.
The drastic changes in land use pattern resulted in altercations in hydrological cycle and had
greatly reduced the scope of natural recharge to ground water body. Water conservation is
practiced in very few buildings.
10.3 Ground water quality related issues

Discharge of untreated industrial and domestic effluents has led to the total degradation of the
water quality in surface and sub-surface water bodies. The sewerage network coverage is low
and the treatment facilities are highly inadequate. Most of the untreated sewage finds its way
into water bodies resulting in poor water quality, high pollution, loss of habitat and
environmental degradation. River Musi, the main source of water, gets an estimated untreated
sewage of 500 ML per day. Hussain Sagar Lake, once used to supply water for the city till
1930 is getting untreated domestic sewage creating high pollution levels.

11.0 Ground Water Development & Management Strategies

11.1 Further Ground Water Development

25-30 % of total water requirement is being met through ground water. Considering the
limited potential of hard rock aquifers, reduced recharge and that the resource is being tapped
from deeper depths any large scale development of ground water resources is not advisable
without adopting proper augmentation practices and strict implementation strategies.

11.2 Management Strategies

11.2.1 Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting and Artificial Recharge

In view of huge availability of larger roof areas, adoption of various water conservation
measures is the need of hour. Delay in implementation of various conservation methods large
scale will lead to a further depletion and contamination of ground water. Hence, the Rain
Water Harvesting of Roof Top is required to be implemented on mandatory basis in urban
areas.

Fig-15 Graph showing increase in Built up area in MCH

Three sets of fracture zones (shallow: 20-30, intermediate: 40-60 m and deeper >60 m) exist
in the area. Shallow fractures are more prevalent, intermediate fractures, often connected to
shallow fractures are more productive, which need to be recharged through rooftop rain water
harvesting. It is recommended that each house/apartment should have recharge unit. The
rooftop water be allowed to pass through recharge unit/filtration unit and recharge existing
well/abandoned well. There should be proper maintenance of the structure and surveillance.
The cost involved for execution of this structure is about Rs 15000/- for each house. This
equals to an estimated amount of about 1000 crores for 50 % of total estimated households
for implementing roof top rain water harvesting in the MCH and surrounding municipalities
and Secunderabad.
Besides this, in twin cities, Defence establishments (Secunderabad area), Universities,
Central and State Institutions, Public Parks, Play grounds etc have large open areas. These
areas are also suitable for taking up artificial recharge structures such as recharge shafts and
recharge pits.

11.2.2 Storm runoff collection and recharge

Hyderabad often faces serious floods during monsoons. This water can be recharged with
proper infrastructure. The storm runoff generated within an area can be utilized for
groundwater recharge by diverting it into suitably designed structures near pavements,
parking lots, municipal parks, play grounds, stadiums, airports etc., and by earmarking some
open spaces exclusively for the purpose. As per the land use pattern, a total of 66% including
Residential areas (44.24%), Parks and play grounds (6.81%), Defence establishments (4.83
%), Public and semi-public (9.01%) and Vacant open lands (1.58%) can be brought under the
ambit of Artificial recharge. The design of recharge structures should involve construction of
sufficient number of recharge pits and trenches filled with gravel. Pavements can be utilized
for collecting roadside run off and for recharging groundwater. Permeable pavement is an
alternative to conventional paving in which water permeates through the paved structure
rather than draining off it.

11.2.3 Waste water Recycling Methods

Wastewater recycling and reuse at source can save up to 45% of water demand in individual
residential buildings and can save up to 60% of water demand in apartment complexes,
residential layouts, townships, institutional buildings and other large neighbourhoods.
Introduction of dual plumbing systems to segregate wastewater (grey & black) will enable the
separation of grey and black water at the source of generation. The grey water (sullage)
constitutes about 70% of the wastewater generated, which can be treated by using simple and
cost effective systems and thereby can be reused for landscaping, external washing in all
treatment options and also be used for WC flushing by using some secondary treatment
options. Once the grey water is separated, the remaining black water (sewage) can then be
treated by decentralized wastewater treatment systems. These parameters will enable the
architects/ contractors/ developers and users in assessing upon type of treatment option that
should be adopted for different types of buildings.

11.2.4 Measures to prevent from contamination

Comprehensive sewerage system in uncovered areas, strict disposal of treated waste by

industries, restoration of tanks and maintenance of existing ground water structures, prevent
ground water contamination.

11.2.5 Water Use Auditing

Water use audits are an important initiative toward understanding a building’s water use and
how it can be reduced. It reviews water use from its point of entry into the building through
its discharge into the sewer. It identifies each point of water use within and around the
building and estimates the quantity of water used at each of these areas.