Groundwater Alert: Uranium, Salinity, Fluoride Taint Wells in 27% Samples
Salinity, fluoride and uranium contaminate aquifers, Rayalaseema worst hit
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh's groundwater, quenching the thirst of over 5 crore people, is a toxic cocktail of uranium, salinity and fluoride, with 27 per cent of tested samples flouting BIS safety norms.
This was stated by the central groundwater board in its just-released annual report 2025. AP ranks 7th worst nationally vis-a-vis salinity breaches, with the coastal Rayalaseema region being the worst-hit.
Analysing 1,135 wells pre-monsoon 2024, CGWB flags 9.78 per cent exceeding electrical conductivity (EC) salinity at 3,000 µS/cm, 8.99 per cent fluoride over 1.5 mg/L, and sporadic uranium spikes beyond 30ppb in hard-rock belts.
Ranked among the top contaminated states alongside Rajasthan and Haryana, AP's aquifers risk fluorosis outbreaks and crop losses. This would call for immediate source blending and RO fixes.
The report stated that salinity hit 111 of 1,135 samples (9.78 per cent), with 47 pre-monsoon and 47 post-monsoon at common sites, driven by coastal intrusion and over-extraction in arid Rayalaseema. Fluoride breached limits in 102 samples (8.99 per cent), easing post-monsoon (31 to 27 sites), geogenic from granite-gneiss in Anantapur, Kadapa marginally; nitrate tainted 275 wells (24.3 per cent), farm runoff culprit.
Uranium lurked in districts like Anantapur, Kurnool; irrigation woes from 26.87 per cent RSC exceedances, this being the second after Delhi's 51 per cent.
The Rayalaseema region reels as Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool log high EC (up to 1,827 µS/cm in Veeraballe) fluoride, while coastal belts like SPSR Nellore face salinity ingress. Monsoon diluted some EC/fluoride but spiked others; 313 trend wells showed mixed recharge, with improvement in 180 and deterioration in 130+ sites. CGWB's 2x2km grids around 340 national hotspots spotlight AP's localised spreads.
The report pointed out that despite a national average of 94 per cent irrigation suitability, AP's situation demands vigilance for the delta farmlands.
