(Photo credit: Suman Reddy D) Hyderabad faces severe water crises with depleting groundwater levels, despite lake rejuvenation efforts

With Hyderabad experiencing water crises as early as February each year and groundwater levels plummeting, the revival of lakes offered a glimmer of hope for residents. However, experts caution that lake rejuvenation alone may not be enough to replenish the city’s depleting water table.
They stress the need for a multi-pronged approach, integrating urban planning strategies that enhance water absorption and conservation. Three decades ago, the combined percolation capacity of lakes and open porous land areas with soil that allows water to seep through easily was around 60%, while concretised spaces accounted for only 40%, shared TV Ramachandra, a researcher from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
“With urbanisation accelerating, the concretised area now exceeds 75%, leaving less than 25% of land available for percolation,” he said.
Stormwater management
He cited an example from Bengaluru, where the rejuvenation of Sarakki Lake led to a 30-foot rise in groundwater levels. “This took three years. However, without proper stormwater management, such extensive efforts could be undermined,” he said. According to National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) data, between 1979 and 2024, Hyderabad lost 61% of its lake area, with nearly 40 of its 185 notified lakes drying up completely. These include Ibrahim Cheruvu, RK Puram, and Gurram Cheruvu.
Soakaways
“Measures such as permeable pavements and soakaways pits filled with gravel or porous materials that allow rainwater to percolate into the ground — can significantly boost groundwater recharge,” said B Malav, an urban planner from Rajasthan. Many cities, he noted, are also exploring the ‘sponge city’ model, which focuses on absorbing, storing, and reusing rainwater.
“This model includes rain gardens — vegetated depressions that collect rainwater from streets and rooftops, allowing it to seep into the ground rather than flowing into drains,” Malav said. Other featuresatures of sponge cities include bioswales and urban wetlands — landscaped drainage channels that filter stormwater.
Restore bowlis
Another key solution, experts say, lies in restoring the city’s historic water-holding structures, such as stepwells and Bowlis. “In ancient times, people relied on natural indicators to identify waterrich areas. They then dug stepwells and Bowlis,” said Kalpana Ramesh, a conservationist leading efforts to revive Hyderabad’s stepwells.
Hyderabad is home to over 6,000 Bowlis and more than 100 stepwells. While nearly 20 have been successfully restored, many others are in various stages of revival.
“Bansilal Stepwell, which was recently restored, can hold 22 lakh litres of water. A 900-year-old stepwell near Shamshabad remains fully functional, with a storage capacity of 30-35 lakh litres,” Kalpana said, adding, “Other revived stepwells include those in Kokapet (15 lakh litres), Kondapur (9 lakh litres), HPS, and ITC Kakatiya, both of which can store over 10 lakh litres each.”