AP Water Intelligence
Andhra Pradesh Groundwater Assessment

Mandal Insights

APWRIMS-format readings fused with NASA/NDMC GRACE-DA satellite-model signals.

Prototype. Prototype results do not replace official field measurements or APWRIMS outputs.
OverviewMandal InsightsOrvakal

Orvakal Mandal

Kurnool District · 137 observation months
StressLimited ConfidenceCGWB 2024Semi-critical Back to map
Historical Median Depth
13.7 mbgl
Available history / latest 2026-09
Observation Months
137
APWRIMS (AP-GWD)
NASA GW Percentile
12.1
Dry
Root-Zone Moisture
1.5
Very Dry
Surface Moisture
0.2
Very Dry
Overall Agreement
Decline without positive climate balance
Data Completeness
V2
Limited
Rainfall Context
115 mm
CHIRPS · Sep 2026
Location & Context
Basemap © OpenFreeMap · OSM · official boundary (AWARE, rebuilt)
Fusion Explanation
Measured · APWRIMS
13.7 mbgl
137 observation months
Rainfall / ET context
115 mm
climate balance: Balanced
Modelled nowcast
27.24 m
model P10–P90 22.98–31 m · Stress
The measured trend is declining without a positive climatic water balance (Balanced). Climate balance remains context and is not direct recharge.
This seasongauge rain, soil moisture and storage
APWRIMS · research use
Gauge rain, 1 Jun to 17 Oct 2026−57% against normal

197 mm against a normal of 461 mm · Deficient · 24 rainy days · 6 gauges

Last month: 69 mm against 101 mm.

Measured: AP DES mandal rain gauges via APWRIMS.

Soil moisture, 18 Oct 202627% at 30 cm · usual 66%
  • 5 cm68%
  • 30 cm27%
  • 100 cm39%
  • 150 cm44%

3rd driest of 13 years for this date (range 22 to 96%). A week earlier: 20%.

Modelled: NRSC VIC land-surface model via APWRIMS; plant-available water as a share of what the soil holds.

Signals pointing to stress3 of 3 usable
  • Groundwater shortfall flaggedyes
  • Gauge rain 20% or more below normalyes
  • Soil among the driest quarter of years for the dateyes

A count of stated tests, not a score. The soil model is driven by rainfall, so those two are not independent.

Crop vegetation, 17 Sep to 14 Oct 202613 · severely below normal

Weekly since 25 Jun; dashed lines at 40 and 60, the drought manual’s class limits. Cropland is about 63% of this mandal's land.

Satellite index: NOAA STAR VHP, 4 km weekly, weighted to cropland (ESA WorldCover 2021). Plant vigour against the same weeks in other years, not yield.

Groundwater assessment 2025-2026Safe · 62% of the extractable groundwater drawn
  • Irrigation7.9
  • Domestic2.1
  • Industry0.1

10.1 of 16.2 million m³ a year (bars: share of the extractable resource, figures in million m³). 2024-2025: Safe, 64%.

Official: CGWB and the AP State Ground Water Department, GEC-2015 method, via INGRES; unit Orvakal.

Reservoirs in Kurnool, 19 Oct 2026
  • Gajuladinne Project61.2%88% a year ago
  • Sunkesula Barrage65.8%97.2% a year ago
  • Pathikonda Reservoir76.8%72.8% a year ago

Storage at the dam, measured. Whether its canals reach this mandal needs the command-area map, which is not public.

Compare across the state
The State network’s latest reading
AWARE groundwater feed · one reading, not a monthly mean
Latest reading30.33 mbelow ground, 9 Sep 2026 · State band >20 m
Since May15.27 m deeperpre-monsoon 15.06 m
Against a year ago18.87 m deeper11.46 m then
Stations3wells averaged

Our monthly series ends Aug 2026 at 28.97 m; the State reading is 1.36 m deeper since then. It is shown beside our series, not merged into it, and the model does not use it.

Assembly constituency
Panyam
Parliamentary constituency
Nandyal
Revenue division
Kurnool
LGD mandal code
05268
Official area
368.7 km²
Outline drawn
official boundary (AWARE, rebuilt)

AP AWARE groundwater feed (groundwater_aggregatedreadings_api) via the AI Living Labs data lake. Readings 1 Sep–9 Sep 2026.

Every constituency
Drought manual checkKharif 2026 · rain to 11 Oct 2026
steps 1–2 · not a declaration

Orvakal

Kurnool district · official boundary (AWARE, rebuilt)
Severe
Step 1 · Trigger 1Set
Rainfall vs normal−59%183 mm against 443 mm · Deficient. Table 3.1 (IMD): normal +19 to −19%, deficient −20 to −59%, large deficient −60 to −99%, no rain −100%. Measured: AP DES gauges via APWRIMS.
Longest dry spell6 wk3.2.1 B: consecutive weeks after the monsoon's due onset with under 50% of the week's normal; usually 4 weeks, 3 on light soils.
1 Jundashed line: half of normal11 Oct
SPI route (satellite)−2.01Extremely dry; would set Trigger 1 on its own route. 3.2.1 C: SPI below −1 is a deficit; below −1.5 sets Trigger 1 without a dry spell. CHIRPS v3 since 1981.
Trigger 1 set by a dry spell. Table 3.11: a dry spell sets Trigger 1. Without one, only large-deficient rainfall (or SPI below −1.5) does.
Step 2 · Trigger 2 · 3 of 3 indicatorsSevere
Remote sensing · VCI Severe16Table 3.4: VCI 60–100 normal, 40–60 moderate, 0–40 severe. NOAA STAR VHP, 4 km, last four weeks. Satellite index over all vegetation; coarser than the manual prefers.
Soil moisture · PASM Severe29%Usual for the date 66%. This date read Severe in 4 of 12 earlier years. Table 3.6 (2020): PASM 76–100 no drought, 51–75 moderate, 0–50 severe. The State may recalibrate. Modelled: NRSC VIC at 30 cm via APWRIMS, four-week mean.
Hydrology · GWDI Severe−0.51Severe: 29.7 m below ground against a 14.6 m mean for the month, 12 years. Table 3.9: GWDI above −0.15 normal, to −0.30 mild, to −0.45 moderate, to −0.60 severe, below extreme. Measured: APWRIMS wells.
Agriculture · area sown Normal90%District figure as reported for 9 Sep 2026; context only, not one of this mandal's three. 3.2.3.1: sown area under 85% of normal is drought; 75% or less is severe.
3.3.1 Step 2: severe if two of three are severe and the third at least moderate; moderate if two are moderate or worse.
Step 3 · the State
Field verification due before harvest. 3.2.6: field checks in 10% of villages, about 5 sites per major crop; crop loss of 33% qualifies, over 50% for severe.
Every mandal on the Drought Watch
Aquifer Water Balancerainfall minus actual ET
TerraClimate 2025
Annual rainfall1,055.2 mm
Modelled actual ET842.8 mm
Annual rainfall minus actual ET+212.4 mm
Balanced

Rainfall minus modelled actual ET is climatic context, not crop water requirement, groundwater recharge, pumping or safe yield.

TerraClimate 2025 annual actual ET vs rainfall (~4 km, modeled). Not groundwater depth or a field irrigation instruction.
Measured History · APWRIMS-format
2014-06 – 2026-09
29.68m below ground
2026-09monsoon
018352014201620182020202220242026
Measured (APWRIMS) Modelled nowcast · p10–p90 Monsoon (Jun–Sep)Depth increases downward — a higher fill is a shallower water table.
Show the numbers
Depth to water by month, metres below ground (APWRIMS)
MonthDepth (m)
Sep 202629.68
Aug 202628.97
Jul 202625.65
Jun 202617.33
May 202615.06
Apr 202615.80
Mar 202612.67
Feb 202610.87
Jan 202610.80
Dec 20259.37
Nov 20258.21
Oct 20259.16
Sep 202510.50
Aug 202511.87
Jul 202515.85
Jun 202512.25
May 202512.67
Apr 202513.12
Mar 202515.48
Feb 202513.83
Jan 202511.09
Dec 202410.46
Nov 202410.71
Oct 202410.08
Sep 202410.54
Aug 202415.15
Jul 202413.61
Jun 202417.27
May 202430.97
Apr 202430.15
Mar 202429.39
Feb 202427.28
Jan 202421.71
Dec 202317.32
Nov 202314.87
Oct 202314.57
Sep 202318.42
Aug 202318.42
Jul 202319.08
Jun 202312.90
May 202310.58
Apr 202312.65
Mar 202313.42
Feb 202312.59
Jan 20233.15
Dec 202210.64
Nov 202210.25
Oct 20229.82
Sep 202210.29
Aug 202211.14
Jul 202216.38
May 202216.42
Mar 202213.83
Aug 20219.40
Jul 20219.31
May 20219.61
Feb 20218.82
Jan 20218.82
Dec 20208.91
Nov 202013.91
Oct 202013.91
Sep 202013.91
Aug 202013.91
Jul 202013.92
Jun 202013.30
May 202013.01
Apr 202013.30
Mar 202012.75
Feb 202012.80
Jan 202011.99
Dec 201911.37
Nov 201911.26
Oct 201911.75
Sep 201914.43
Aug 201915.99
Jul 201917.55
Jun 201918.09
May 201916.99
Apr 201917.01
Mar 201917.13
Feb 201915.93
Jan 201918.33
Dec 201815.49
Nov 201814.73
Oct 201813.40
Sep 201813.51
Aug 201815.01
Jul 201813.76
Jun 201812.97
May 201812.79
Apr 201811.24
Mar 201811.27
Feb 201811.30
Jan 20184.63
Dec 201710.94
Nov 201710.32
Oct 201712.71
Sep 201713.66
Aug 201715.85
Jul 201715.58
Jun 201717.00
May 201717.00
Apr 201715.81
Mar 201716.05
Feb 201715.40
Jan 20174.63
Dec 201613.76
Nov 201613.79
Oct 201612.91
Sep 201611.42
Aug 201613.98
Jul 201613.31
Jun 201613.44
May 201614.74
Apr 201614.67
Mar 201614.29
Feb 201612.83
Jan 201612.83
Dec 201511.63
Nov 201511.15
Oct 201511.69
Sep 201514.78
Aug 201515.61
Jul 201515.73
Jun 201515.35
May 201515.11
Apr 201514.57
Mar 201514.30
Feb 201513.70
Jan 201514.57
Dec 201411.76
Nov 201410.65
Oct 201411.73
Sep 201414.24
Aug 201415.15
Jul 201414.15
Jun 201414.25
APWRIMS-format monthly observations (m below ground). The dashed extension is the modelled nowcast — 27.24 m, P10–P90 22.98–31 m — not a measurement.
Monsoon Cycle · Recharge by Year
pre-monsoon May vs post-monsoon November
Typical monsoon recovery+4.21 mmedian across 10 paired years
Weakest recovery-4.29 min 2023
  1. 2015▲ 3.96 m
  2. 2016▲ 0.95 m
  3. 2017▲ 6.68 m
  4. 2018▼ 1.94 m
  5. 2019▲ 5.74 m
  6. 2020▼ 0.90 m
  7. 2022▲ 6.17 m
  8. 2023▼ 4.29 m
  9. 2024▲ 20.25 m
  10. 2025▲ 4.46 m
Pre-monsoon (May) — the annual low Post-monsoon (Nov) — after rechargeRecovery is the metres the water table rose over the monsoon. A short bar is a monsoon that did not refill the aquifer.
Derived from the measured APWRIMS-format history, not modelled. Years without both a May and a November reading are omitted rather than interpolated.
Data Quality & Freshness
Observation records137
Latest observation period2026-09
Satellite sample—
Measured labelAPWRIMS (AP-GWD)
Boundarypublic_prototype
137 observation months; modelled.
Data Sources
Measured Input · APWRIMS
APWRIMS mandal reading (2014-2026)
NASA Satellite-Model (GRACE-DA)
Real percentiles 0–100 · —
CHIRPS Rainfall Context
Monthly areal average · not direct measured recharge
Boundary Source
The State's outline (AWARE), rebuilt from its points · 368.7 km²
Recommended Action
Collect an additional field observation before interpretation
Review the APWRIMS-format observation history
Reassess once the authorised APWRIMS export arrives
Do not treat as official until the APWRIMS export is authorised
Action Output
AWARE / APWRIMS Action Output (Preview)
{
  "district_name": "KURNOOL",
  "mandal_name": "ORVAKAL",
  "status": "Groundwater stress indicator",
  "confidence_label": "Limited",
  "recommended_action": "Review the measured history and field-verify conditions.",
  "source_caveat": "Unreleased preview; field verification and official schema required."
}
Prototype InsightAPWRIMS reading + real NASA satellite-model percentileNot official until the APWRIMS export is authorised · official boundary (AWARE, rebuilt)Go to watchlist