GAWAH Explained | Part 1 of a three-part series
For many Hyderabad families, water is no longer something they take for granted. A borewell that once supplied an apartment or independent home may now yield less water—or stop altogether. Tanker dependence is becoming a daily concern in parts of the city. The question is not simply where to drill next. It is how Hyderabad stores, shares and replenishes water.
The latest city-region figures underline the pressure. The Telangana Ground Water Department assessment reported by The New Indian Express found that the Core Urban Region’s groundwater level in September 2026 was 6.85 metres lower than in September 2025. Rainfall through September 30 was 457 mm against a normal 619 mm, a 26% deficit. The assessment used readings from 107 monitoring points across 46 mandals; the reported average depth to groundwater was 11.58 metres, but local readings varied sharply. These are September measurements—not a live reading for every neighbourhood today. Read the reported assessment.
Why can one borewell work while another nearby fails?
Hyderabad sits on hard-rock terrain in many areas. Groundwater is often stored and moves through weathered rock and fractures, rather than through one large, uniform underground lake. The depth and yield of a borewell can therefore change significantly over a short distance. A deeper borewell may find a productive fracture, but it may also fail; drilling deeper is not a guaranteed solution and can increase costs and pressure on shared groundwater.
Four pressures combine to make the problem worse:
- Rainfall shortfalls: less rain means less water may be available to replenish soil moisture, lakes and groundwater.
- Heavy extraction: if homes, apartments, commercial buildings and industries pump water faster than aquifers recover, levels fall.
- Urban surfaces: roads, roofs and paved plots can send rainwater quickly into drains instead of allowing it to soak into the ground—unless runoff is deliberately captured and directed safely.
- Damage to water bodies and catchments: polluted lakes, blocked feeder channels and encroached catchment areas weaken the city’s natural water-storage system.
Before the tanker: how Hyderabad built a water system
Hyderabad’s water story did not begin with the Nizams. The Qutb Shahi-era Hussain Sagar was built in 1562, and historic tanks and cisterns helped serve the growing city. Mir Alam Tank later became an important source for drinking water. As the population grew, these sources could not meet all the city’s needs.
The turning point in modern water planning came after the devastating Musi flood of 1908. Under the Nizam’s government, engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was consulted on flood control and urban improvement. Osman Sagar was completed in the early 1920s and Himayat Sagar followed later in that decade. The reservoirs helped control floods and became important drinking-water sources. Heritage Hyderabad’s historical account and Telangana Today’s report drawing on archival records describe this transition.
That system was built for a much smaller city. Hyderabad has since expanded far beyond its historic core, with more households, apartments, offices, roads and paved land. The old reservoirs remain important, but they cannot by themselves solve every modern challenge: population growth, rising demand, distribution infrastructure, pollution, uneven rainfall and groundwater extraction all matter.
How deep can a borewell legally go—and who checks?
There is no responsible one-size-fits-all answer based only on a drilling contractor’s claim. Section 13 of the Telangana Water, Land and Trees Act, 2002 empowers the relevant authority to specify well depth and spacing through directions, while the official permission process requires a feasibility review. The Telangana Ground Water Department’s permission procedure is described on the TS-iPASS portal. Local news reports have cited a 120-metre (about 394-foot) limit in Hyderabad, but the permitted depth for a particular plot must be checked against the current applicable order and the depth stated in the written approval. Do not treat the drilling rig’s maximum capacity as legal permission. See the WALTA Act and reporting on borewell permissions in Shaikpet.
Are people following the rules? We could not find a current, consolidated government figure showing what percentage of Hyderabad’s borewells are permitted or compliant. A 2023 report in The Times of India said Shaikpet had received no borewell-permission applications for around a year and a half, despite concerns about drilling; that is a local warning sign, not proof of citywide non-compliance. A proper answer requires current ward- or mandal-level data on applications, permissions, inspections, violations and sealed wells.
Can a residential borewell supply a business? The purpose recorded in the application and permission matters. Telangana’s prescribed well-permission conditions state that a well should not be used for a purpose other than the one applied for, and extraction can be restricted where public drinking-water sources are affected. Separately, the Central Ground Water Authority’s guidelines distinguish individual domestic users from larger apartment/group-housing projects and commercial or industrial extraction; applicable NOC requirements depend on the type of user, quantity extracted and current rules. A household borewell should not simply be assumed to authorise bulk sale of water, supply to a commercial operation, or an industrial use. The authorities should verify suspected cases rather than GAWAH accusing a specific property without evidence. Refer to the CGWA guidelines and WALTA Rules.
What went wrong—and what can still work?
It would be too simple to say that Hyderabad has run out of water, or that one historic system has simply stopped working. The city draws water from multiple sources, including distant reservoirs and groundwater. The challenges differ by source and locality. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has also rejected viral claims that all reservoir supply would stop by the end of November; falling groundwater levels are a real concern, but they are not proof of a total citywide shutdown. Read the report on the Water Board’s clarification.
The durable response must combine reliable public supply, repairs to leaking networks, protection and restoration of lakes and their catchments, appropriate rainwater harvesting, treated wastewater reuse where safe, and responsible groundwater extraction. Household recharge structures can help, but only when their design suits the site’s geology and the incoming water is properly filtered. They cannot replace a functioning citywide water plan.
What should residents do now?
- Repair leaks and prevent overhead tanks from overflowing.
- Use drinking-quality water only where it is needed; avoid unnecessary potable-water use for washing vehicles or paved areas.
- Inspect and maintain existing rainwater-harvesting systems before the next rains.
- Ask a qualified local professional whether a recharge pit, trench or well is appropriate for the plot; do not direct contaminated runoff into groundwater.
- Follow official HMWSSB updates and avoid forwarding unverified claims about reservoirs or a citywide shutdown.
The key lesson: Hyderabad cannot solve a groundwater problem by drilling deeper alone. It must replenish what it extracts while protecting the lakes, catchments and public infrastructure that make water security possible.
Coming next in this series: Part 2 will explain what households can do immediately—how to assess a borewell problem, choose between rainwater storage and groundwater recharge, and avoid spending money on ineffective harvesting systems. Part 3 will examine what the government, builders and communities need to change for the long term.
Sources and further reading
- The New Indian Express — Hyderabad’s groundwater sinks deeper (8 October 2026)
- Telangana Ground Water Department
- National Water Data Portal — Telangana monthly groundwater observations
- Heritage Hyderabad — city history
- Telangana Today — Osman Sagar and archival history
- Hyderabad Mail — HMWSSB reservoir-shutdown rumour fact-check
