A Review of the Groundwater Potential and Scope for Future Development in East and West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur Districts of Andhra Pradesh

The coastal districts of East and West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur of Andhra Pradesh have an areal extent of 42,264 sq. km., of which an area of 21,801 sq. km is covered by hard crystalline rocks and metamorphosed older sedimentary rocks. An area of 4,826 sq. km comprises of Lower and Upper Gondwana and Tertiary sediments and Deccan Trap formations. Alluvial deposits together occupy the remaining area (i.e. 15,637 sq. km) of the deltaic parts of Krishna and Godavari rivers. Of these, the sedimentary formations along with the alluvial deposits are the most important formations for groundwater development on a large scale by means of tube-wells.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has drawn up a Package project for constructing 7,500 tube-wells in the upland and deltaic areas of the region to step up agricultural production in the State. There is good scope for large scale development both in the areas occupied by sedimentary formations of the upland region and by alluvial deposits of the deltaic region.