The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has stated in its Annual Ground Water Quality Report, 2025 that Andhra Pradesh is one of the States facing widespread contamination of groundwater as per the BIS standards.
- However, the report notes that the monsoon had shown some improvement in water quality, particularly in the areas affected by high electrical conductivity (EC) and fluoride.
- “Elevated uranium concentrations exceeding 30 parts per billion (ppb) were detected sporadically in Andhra Pradesh and four other States,” the report mentioned. High incidence of residual sodium carbonate beyond permissible limits was also recorded in Andhra Pradesh (26.87% of the samples analysed).
- The groundwater quality alerts issued by the CGWB during June 2024-–March 2025 highlighted the high incidence of nitrate, iron, fluoride, chromium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, zinc, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, lead, and uranium, with notable concerns in Andhra Pradesh and eight other States. Andhra Pradesh and some other States were found to be facing seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers, which was attributed to high levels of electrical conductivity.
Uranium hotspots
- Sixteen villages in Sri Sathya Sai district, and three in Tirupati district were found to have uranium levels exceeding 30 ppb.
- Five villages were identified as arsenic hotspots, where the concentration of the heavy metal exceeded 10 ppb. Fluoride contamination above 1.50 mg/l in areas, especially hard rock aquifers in Andhra Pradesh, where over-extraction enhances the mobilisation of fluoride-bearing minerals was one of the major findings.