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 InsightsPodili

Podili Mandal

Markapuram District · 141 observation months
WatchHigh ConfidenceCGWB 2024Not assessed Back to map
Historical Median Depth
10.59 mbgl
Available history / latest 2026-09
Observation Months
141
APWRIMS (AP-GWD)
NASA GW Percentile
7.5
Very Dry
Root-Zone Moisture
0.9
Very Dry
Surface Moisture
0.4
Very Dry
Overall Agreement
Decline without positive climate balance
Data Completeness
V2
High
Rainfall Context
139.1 mm
CHIRPS · Sep 2026
Location & Context
Basemap © OpenFreeMap · OSM · official boundary (AWARE, rebuilt)
Fusion Explanation
Measured · APWRIMS
10.59 mbgl
141 observation months
Rainfall / ET context
139.1 mm
climate balance: Balanced
Modelled nowcast
7.9 m
model P10–P90 6.94–9.05 m · Watch
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 2026−60% against normal

185 mm against a normal of 462 mm · Deficient · 23 rainy days · 8 gauges

Last month: 99 mm against 125 mm.

Measured: AP DES mandal rain gauges via APWRIMS.

Soil moisture, 18 Oct 20267% at 30 cm · usual 55%
  • 5 cm19%
  • 30 cm7%
  • 100 cm12%
  • 150 cm14%

driest of 13 years for this date (range 9 to 100%). A week earlier: 26%.

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 202618 · severely below normal

Weekly since 25 Jun; dashed lines at 40 and 60, the drought manual’s class limits. Cropland is about 78% 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 · 52% of the extractable groundwater drawn
  • Irrigation15.1
  • Domestic1.7

16.8 of 32.5 million m³ a year (bars: share of the extractable resource, figures in million m³).

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

Reservoirs in Markapuram, 19 Oct 2026
  • Pula Subbaiah Veligonda Project?%?% a year ago
  • Cum Bum Tank25%54.9% a year ago
  • Mopadu Reservoir Project0%13.4% 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 reading8.74 mbelow ground, 9 Sep 2026 · State band 6–20 m
Since May3.00 m deeperpre-monsoon 5.74 m
Against a year ago1.54 m deeper7.20 m then
Stations3wells averaged

Our monthly series ends Aug 2026 at 8.22 m; the State reading is 0.52 m deeper since then. It is shown beside our series, not merged into it, and the model does not use it.

Assembly constituency
Markapuram
Parliamentary constituency
Ongole
Revenue division
Markapur
LGD mandal code
05120
Official area
292.6 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

Podili

Markapuram district · official boundary (AWARE, rebuilt)
Moderate
Step 1 · Trigger 1Set
Rainfall vs normal−58%181 mm against 434 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)−1.75Severely 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 indicatorsModerate
Remote sensing · VCI Severe20Table 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 Severe30%Usual for the date 55%. This date read Severe in 6 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 Normal+0.16Normal: 7.6 m below ground against a 11.5 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 n/a—Not published per mandal: the Agriculture department holds it. 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 rainfall905.2 mm
Modelled actual ET821.4 mm
Annual rainfall minus actual ET+83.8 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
7.56m 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 20267.56
Aug 20268.22
Jul 20267.55
Jun 20266.93
May 20265.74
Apr 20265.11
Mar 20264.43
Feb 20263.21
Jan 20262.85
Dec 20252.60
Nov 20252.10
Oct 20255.52
Sep 20256.52
Aug 20257.49
Jul 20258.24
Jun 20257.78
May 20257.51
Apr 20256.88
Mar 20256.60
Feb 20255.53
Jan 20254.94
Dec 20244.40
Nov 20244.50
Oct 20247.05
Sep 202410.47
Aug 202412.32
Jul 202411.78
Jun 202411.05
May 202413.31
Apr 202411.55
Mar 20249.60
Feb 20248.98
Jan 20248.32
Dec 20237.47
Nov 20238.80
Oct 20239.28
Sep 20239.68
Aug 20239.70
Jul 20238.93
Jun 20238.22
May 202325.32
Apr 20238.90
Mar 20238.16
Feb 20236.85
Jan 20236.01
Dec 20228.56
Nov 20228.79
Oct 20229.96
Sep 202211.15
Aug 202211.04
Jul 202211.18
Jun 20221.03
May 20228.53
Apr 20220.92
Mar 20228.26
Feb 20221.02
Jan 20220.82
Aug 20218.45
Jul 20217.05
May 20216.24
Feb 20214.28
Jan 20213.90
Dec 20203.35
Nov 20205.08
Oct 202013.89
Sep 20208.88
Aug 202013.89
Jul 202013.90
Jun 20209.28
May 202014.19
Apr 20209.28
Mar 20209.88
Feb 20208.70
Jan 20207.35
Dec 20196.58
Nov 20198.75
Oct 20198.76
Sep 201911.00
Aug 201912.35
Jul 201912.83
Jun 201915.81
May 201914.65
Apr 201915.01
Mar 201915.18
Feb 201915.24
Jan 201915.51
Dec 201814.53
Nov 201814.41
Oct 201814.83
Sep 201815.62
Aug 201815.79
Jul 201815.14
Jun 201815.39
May 201814.86
Apr 201814.96
Mar 201814.13
Feb 201813.27
Jan 201812.15
Dec 201711.50
Nov 201710.59
Oct 20179.53
Sep 20179.99
Aug 201710.46
Jul 201715.74
Jun 201715.06
May 201715.37
Apr 201715.10
Mar 201714.49
Feb 201713.75
Jan 201712.78
Dec 201612.23
Nov 201612.04
Oct 201610.64
Sep 20168.95
Aug 201612.49
Jul 201611.89
Jun 201611.15
May 201613.84
Apr 201612.94
Mar 201611.96
Feb 201620.52
Jan 201627.61
Dec 201520.61
Nov 201518.39
Oct 201514.77
Sep 201513.95
Aug 201520.35
Jul 201520.16
Jun 201519.16
May 201525.04
Apr 20158.95
Mar 20158.86
Feb 201528.48
Jan 201523.45
Dec 201418.63
Nov 201415.85
Oct 201424.32
Sep 201424.52
Aug 201424.16
Jul 201418.43
Jun 201417.36
APWRIMS-format monthly observations (m below ground). The dashed extension is the modelled nowcast — 7.9 m, P10–P90 6.94–9.05 m — not a measurement.
Monsoon Cycle · Recharge by Year
pre-monsoon May vs post-monsoon November
Typical monsoon recovery+5.66 mmedian across 10 paired years
Weakest recovery-0.26 min 2022
  1. 2015▲ 6.65 m
  2. 2016▲ 1.79 m
  3. 2017▲ 4.79 m
  4. 2018▲ 0.45 m
  5. 2019▲ 5.91 m
  6. 2020▲ 9.11 m
  7. 2022▼ 0.26 m
  8. 2023▲ 16.52 m
  9. 2024▲ 8.81 m
  10. 2025▲ 5.41 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 records141
Latest observation period2026-09
Satellite sample—
Measured labelAPWRIMS (AP-GWD)
Boundarypublic_prototype
141 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 · 292.6 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": "MARKAPURAM",
  "mandal_name": "PODILI",
  "status": "Monitoring watch",
  "confidence_label": "High",
  "recommended_action": "Continue monitoring and review the next measured observation.",
  "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