1

Foreword
Groundwater is an essential component of the environment and economy. It
sustains the flow in our rivers and plays an important role in maintaining the
fragile ecosystems. The groundwater dependence of agrarian states like
Karnataka is high. Recent studies indicate that 26 percent of the area of
Karnataka State is under over exploited category and number of blocks is
under critical category. In view of the growing concerns of sustainability of
ground water sources, immediate attention is required to augment groundwater
resources in stressed areas. Irrigated agriculture in the state is putting
additional stress on the groundwater system and needs proper management of
the resources.

Central Ground Water Board is providing all technical input for effective
management of ground water resources in the state. The groundwater scenario
compiled on administrative divisions gives a better perspective for planning
various ground water management measures by local administrative bodies.
With this objective, Central Ground Water Board is publishing the revised
groundwater information booklet for all the districts of the state.

I do appreciate the efforts of Dr. K.Md.Najeeb, Regional Director and his fleet of
dedicated Scientists of South Western Region, Bangalore for bringing out this
booklet. I am sure these brochures will provide a portrait of the groundwater
resources in each district for planning effective management measures by the
administrators, planners and the stake holders.

Dr. S. C. Dhiman

2
PREFACE

Ground water contributes to about eighty percent of the drinking water

requirements in the rural areas, fifty percent of the urban water requirements
and more than fifty percent of the irrigation requirements of the nation.
Central Ground Water Board has decided to bring out district level ground
water information booklets highlighting the ground water scenario, its
resource potential, quality aspects, recharge – discharge relationship,
vulnerability area etc., for all the districts of the country. As part of this,
Central Ground Water Board, South Western Region, Bangalore, is
preparing such booklets for all the 30 districts of Karnataka state,
incorporating the data up to the period 2011-12.

The Uttara Kannada district Ground Water Information Booklet has been
prepared based on the information available and data collected from various
state and central government organisations by several hydro-scientists of
Central Ground Water Board with utmost care and dedication. This booklet
has been prepared by Shri. B.V. Chinagudi, Scientist-B, Central Ground
Water Board, South Western Region, Bangalore. The figures were prepared by
Sri. J. Sivaramakrishnan, Assistant Hydrogeologist and the rainfall data provided by
Shri H.P.Jayaprakash Scientist-C. The efforts of Report processing section in
finalising and bringing out the report in this format are commendable.
I take this opportunity to congratulate them for the diligent and careful
compilation and observation in the form of this booklet, which will certainly
serve as a guiding document for further work and help the planners,
administrators, academicians, hydrogeologists and engineers to plan and
manage the water resources in a better way in the district.

(K.Md.Najeeb)
Regional Director

3
UTTARA KANNADA DISTRICT AT A GLANCE

Sl ITEMS STATISTICS
No
I GENERAL INFORMATION
1 Geographical Area : 10222 Sq. Km
2 Administrative Divisions
i No. Of Taluks : 11
ii No. Towns : 6
iii No. of Villages : 1246
iv Average annual rainfall 1166.3 - 3672.5
3 Population (2011census) :
a) Total Population : 14.37lakhs
b) Rural Population : 9.66 lakhs
c) Urban Population : 3.88 lakhs
d) Density of Population : 140 Persons/Sq.km
e) Literacy percentage : 76.60%
II GEOMORPHOLOGY
Major physiographic divisions i) coastal plains,
ii) Western ghats
iii) Eastern table land
Major Drainages Kali, Sharavathi, gangavali
and Aganashini
III Land use (2005-2006)
a) Area under forests (ha) 813695
b) Area not available for cultivation(ha) 50600
c) fallow and other land (ha) 47107
d) Net area sown(ha) 113277
e) Area sown more than once (ha) 11473
f) Gross area under cultivation (ha) 124750
g) Net irrigated area (ha) 25437
h) Area irrigated by ground water (ha) 9390
IV MAJOR SOIL TYPES Hilly soil, lateritic soil, loamy
soil and semi-black cotton
soil.
V AREA UNDER PRINCIPAL CROPS Paddy – 80311
(2002-03) figures in ha Maize -- 1542
Pulses – 2426
Spices – 15787
Oil seeds- 3452
Fruits -- 6924
Vegetables- 302
Sugarcane- 1008
Cotton – 6197
Coconut-- 7197
VI IRRIGATION BY DIFFERENT Source Area(ha)
SOURCES Dugwells –7302
Borewells-2090
Lift - 596
Tanks/Ponds-4754

4
Canals - 94
Other sources – 10601
Net irrigated area -25437
VII NUMBER OF GROUND WATER
MONITORING STATIONS OF CGWB
No of Dugwells 34
No of piezometers 10
VIII PREDOMINANT GEOLOGICAL
FORMATIONS
Recent Alluvium
Lower Precambrian Dharwar Meta-
system sedimentary
&Metavolcanics
.
Archaean Formation Peninsular Gneisses,mig- .
gneisses matites and
granites

VII HYDROGEOLOGY
Major Water Bearing Formations
Shallow aquifers of alluvium along the stream courses, sea coast,
creeks, weathered zones of schists, metasedimentaries and
metavolcanics occurring between the depths of 3 to 20 mbgl
Deeper aquifers of fractured and jointed Schists, gneisses and
metavolacanics and meta sedimentaries up to 200 mbgl.
Premonsoon Water levels during 2007 1.91 to 29.88 mbgl.
(mbgl)
Post monsoon Water levels during 0.36 to 16.85 mbgl.
2006 (mbgl)
Long term water level trends (1998- NHS NHS
2007)m/year dugwells Piezometers
Premonsoon Rising trends (no.) 9 2
Premonsoon Falling trends (no.) 27 9
Postmonsoon Rising trends (no.) 30 6
Post monsoon Falling trends (no.) 7 5
IX GROUND WATER EXPLORATION Phase I Phase II
BY CGWB
No of wells drilled 5 EW, 4OW 33
Depth range (m) 16-47 89-200
Discharge (l/sec) 0.05 – 3.75 0-8.5
Transmissivity (m2/day) 7.1 – 446 2.09–24.41
X GROUND WATER QUALITY
Presence of constituents more than Nitrates and Fluoride
permissible limits
Type of water
The quality of ground water in general is potable and suitable for irrigation
purposes,
XI DYNAMIC GROUND WATER RESOURCES (As per revised estimation
as per 1997 methedology) AS ON 31ST MARCH 2009
a) Net annual ground water availability 51060

5
(ham)
b) Existing gross ground water draft for 18351
all uses (ham)
c) Allocation for domestic and industrial 3363
use for next 25 years in (ham)
d) Net ground water availability for future 32222
irrigation development (ham)
e) Stage of development as on March 37.5
2009 (%)
XII AWARENESS AND TRAINING
ACTIVITIES
Mass awareness programme Nil
arranged
Water Management training Nil
programme arranged
XIII GROUND WATER CONTROL AND
REGULATION
Number of OE blocks 2
Number of Critical blocks Nil
Number of blocks notified Nil

6
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 LOCATION.
The Uttara Kannada district is located between north latitudes130 55’ 02” to 150
31’ 01” and east longitudes 7400’35” to 75010’ 23” falling in the survey of India
degree sheet Nos –48 I,48 J, 48 K, 48 M, and 48N. The district is having
geographical area of 10222 sq. kms.

1.2 ADMINISTRATIVE SETUP.

The district headquarters is located at Karwar. The district is divided in to four
subdivisions viz; 1) Bhatkal subdivision, comprising of Bhatkal, Honnavar
taluks. 2) Karwar subdivision, comprising of Haliyal, Karwar, Supa taluks. 3)
Kumata subdivision, comprising of Kumata, Ankola taluks and 4) Sirsi
subdivision comprising of sirsi, Yellapur, Siddapur and Mundgod taluks.

1.3 ACCESSIBILITY.
The district head quarters Karwar is located about 500 kms from Bangalore city
on Panjim – Mangalore National highway No 17. The National high way No 17
enters the district from South and passes through Karwar, Ankola, Kumta,
Honnavar, Bhatkal and leaves the district through Northern boundary. The
other important roads are state highways connecting Ankola – Hubli – Gadag
and Honnavar – Shimoga – Bangalore. The famous Konkan railway connecting
all the towns between Panvel (Bombay) and Trivandrum passes through the
western most part of the district in almost north-south direction. All the taluk
head quarters are well connected to district head quarters by state highways
and metalled roads. All villages are connected to taluk head quarters by
metalled roads. The administrative map of Uttara Kannada district is given as
Figure-1.

1.4 POPULATION.
The total population in the district is around 14.37 lakhs (as per 2011 census),
out of which rural population constitutes 9.66 lakhs. The urban population is
3.88 lakhs and the density of population of the district is 140 persons per
square kilometer. The literacy of the population is 76.60%.

1.5 DRAINAGE
The important rivers in the district are Sharavathi, Kali, Aghanashini, and
Gangavali. all these rivers flowing in westerly direction to Join Arabian sea. All
the rivers in the district together with their tributaries exhibit dendritic drainage
pattern (Figure-2).

7
Fig.1

8
1.6 LAND USE AND CROPPING PATTERN.
The district has 813695 ha. forest which constitutes 79 % of the total
geographical area of the district. The land not available for cultivation is 50600
ha which is about 5 % of the total area. The fallow land in the district is around
16951 ha. The other uncultivated lands are 30156 ha. Net area sown during the
year 2005-06 was around 113277 ha. out of which, 11473 ha. land was sown
more than once.

1.7 CROPS
The main food crops grown in the district are paddy, Maize, pulses groundnut,
and spices. Sugarcane, cotton and arecanut are the main commercial crops
grown in the district.

1.8 IRRIGATION.
Out of 113277 ha of cultivated land during 2005-06, 25437 ha was under
irrigation (22% of total cultivated area), out of which 94 ha was irrigated under
canals, 4754 ha was irrigated under tanks, 7302 ha was irrigated by dugwells,
2090 ha was irrigated by tube/bore wells.

1.9 INDUSTRIES
In the district there are two big, two medium and 7736 small scale industries.
The important minerals available in the district are Iron and Manganese ores,
Lime shell and moulding sand.

1.12 STUDIES CARRIED OUT BY CGWB

Systematic hydrogeological surveys have been carried out by Shri. P.
Nandakumaran, Scientist-B, Central Ground Water Board, SWR, Bangalore
covering Halyal, Ankola, Kumta, Bhatkal, Honnavartaluks of Uttara Kannada
district during the years 1984-87. Systematic hydrogeological surveys have
been carried out by Shri. S.S.Hegde, Asstt. Hydrogeologist, Central Ground
Water Board, SWR, Bangalore covering Sirsi and Yellapur taluks of Uttara
Kannada district during the years 1986-87. Hydrogeological surveys were
carried out by Shri. V.Saivasan, Asstt. Hydrogeologist, covering Siddapura and
parts of Bhatkal taluks of Uttara Kannada district during the years 1985-86.
Hydrogeological surveys were carried out by Shri.U.Joshi Asstt.
Hydrogeologist, covering Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district during the
years 1985-86. Hydrogeological surveys were carried out by Shri. V.S.Prakash,
Scientist-B, covering Karwar taluk of Uttara Kannada district during the years
1987-88. Hydrogeological surveys were carried out by Shri. K.Keerthiseelan,
Scientist-C, covering Supa taluk of Uttara Kannada district during the years
1987-88. Another report was compiled by Shri. K. Keerthiseelan, Scientist-C,
on “Hydrogeology and Ground Water Potential in Uttara Kannada district,
Karnataka State” during the year 1990-91.

9
Fig-2

10
2.0. RAINFALL AND CLIMATE

The Uttara Kannada District experiences tropical monsoon climate. Generally

the weather is hot and humid on the coastal areas throughout the year. The
district falls under the Hilly agro climatic zone except for western parts of
Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honnavar and Bhatkal taluks which fall under coastal
agro climatical zone. The temperatures start rising from January to peak in May,
around 30 degrees is common. The highest day time temperatures rise some
time up to 38oC. Thereafter it decline during the monsoons. As can be
expected, the humidity is lowest during the dry season and highest during the
monsoons. The winds are predominantly south westerly during the summer
monsoon and northeasterly during the winter monsoon. The year may broadly
be classified into four seasons. The dry season is from January to February with
clear and bright weather. It is followed by hot weather from March to May.
During this season thunderstorms are common in the month of May. The
monsoon season is from June to September. This season yields around 75%
(Halyal taluk) to 90% (Karwar taluk) of the annual rainfall. The period from
October to December may be termed as the post monsoon season. On an
average the district receives annually around 2750 mm rainfall from nearly 103
rainy days. The rainfall decreases from over 3230 mm in west to less than
1207 mm in east. The coefficient of variability of premonsoon season rainfall is
high indicating erratic rainfall. The same is the case during the post monsoon
season. The variability is 30 to 40 % during the monsoon season, which is
normal. July is the wettest month with normal monthly rainfall in all stations in
excess of 300mm. The seasonal and normal rainfall for the period 2001-10 is
given in table.1 and the taluk wise rainfall is given in annexure1

Table : 1. Seasonal & Annual Normal Rainfall for the period

2001-2010 Uttara Kannada District, Karanataka

Pre- SW NE
Station Monsoon Monsoon Monsoon Annual
Rainfall (mm)
Ankola 195 3121 286 3602
Bhatkal 327 4055 334 4716
Haliyal 122 907 99 1129
Honnavar 209 3246 304 3759
Karwar 210 2841 301 3352
Kumta 204 3116 294 3614
Mundgod 143 865 117 1125
Siddapur 172 2562 180 2914
Sirsi 105 2054 201 2360
Supa 145 2005 149 2300
Yellapur 111 2171 157 2440

11
3.0. GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SOIL TYPES

3.1 PHYSIOGRAPHY.
The major part of the district is covered by hilly areas belonging to Sahyadri hill
ranges, except for the narrow coastal strip on wester n side and plain table land
areas on eastern most parts of the district occupying parts of Mundgod and
Halyal taluks. The land mass of the district is situated between the elevations of
0 to 800 m above msl. The highest peak in the district is Darshangudda
locateed 915 m.amsl near the border to Goa state. The District is having coast
line of 122 kms.

Main surface water resources are harnessed for generating electricity by

Kalinadi hydroelectric project and Kadra hydroelectric project. There are no
major or medium irrigation projects in the district. There are about 1048 minor
irrigation tanks irrigating around 23984 ha.

3.2 SOIL TYPES

Along the coast on the western most part of the district the costal alluvial soil is
occurring. The most rugged hilly parts of the district are covered by hilly type
soil and surrounded by the areas covered by lateritic soil. On eastern parts, the
lateritic soils change to red loamy soils. Some area on eastern most parts of
Mundgod taluk are covered by semi-black cotton soils.

4.0 GROUND WATER SCENARIO

4.1.1 Occurence of Ground Water

Uttara Kannada district consists of rock formations of Archaean complex
characterised by a system of ridges and a plateau on the west. Laterites occur
overlying the schist and granites, and alluvium along the rivers and lagoons of
the coast.

Main aquifers in the study area are the weathered and fractured zones of
metavolcanics, meta-sedimentaries, granites, gneissesand laterites. The
alluvial patches are found along the major stream courses.

Since, the hard rocks in the area do not posses primary porosity, the secondary
structures like joints, fissures and faults present in this formation act as porous
media. It generally constitutes about 3% of the volume of formation to facilitate
storage of ground water. The phreatic zone generally occurs within the depth
range of 3.00 to 30.00 mbgl .The fracture zones occur at various depth zones
within the depth of 185.00mbgl. It is found that the water bearing characteristics
of schistose rocks are more or less similar to that of gneisses and granites. But
the weathered zones of schists may not yield as granites and gneisses
because of their compact and fine grained nature.

Alluvium occurs along the river banks in a few to 14.00 metres thickness, holds
the bank storage and along the sea coast and creeks occurs as narrow strip of
sand bed having a depth up to 50m.
Ground water in the above aquifer system generally occurs under unconfined,
semi-confined and confined conditions. In the shallower zones it exists under

12
phreatic condition and in the deeper zones it exists under semi-confined to
confined conditions. The ground water is generally being exploited from the
depth range of 3.00 to 31.00mbgl through dug wells and from 30.00 to
200.00mbgl through dug-cum-bore wells and Bore wells. The hydrogeological
map depicting the hydrogeological details of the area is presented as Figure-3.
The hilly tracks have thin weathered covers and the valley portions have thicker
weathered zones.

4.1.2 Ground water levels

37 dug well National Hydrograph Stations (NHS) monitored in Uttara Kannada
district during May 2011 shows water level in the range of 1.76 to12.81mbgl
(Appendix-I). During November 2011, the general depth to water levels in the
national hydrograph stations (dug wells) were in the range of 0.56 to17.06mbgl
(Appendix-I). The water levels in 4 piezometers ranges from 1.77 to 14.10
m.bgl during May 2007 and 1.91 to 9.16 mbgl during November 2007.

A premonsoon water level map was prepared using May 2011 water levels
available from the 30 national hydrograph network monitoring stations (Figure-
4).The major part of the Uttara Kannada district is having the premonsoon
water levels between 5 to 10 mbgl during 2011. Water levels between 2 and 5
m bgl were observed around Karwar town, in northern part of Supa, northern
and north western part of Siddapur taluk, along the coast between Kumta and
Ankola, also on southern parts of Ankola. The water levels between 10-20
mbgl are observed in northern parts of Supa and Halyal taluks, on south
eastern part of Yellapur taluk, Eastern parts of Mundgod, Sirsi and Siddapur
taluks. Remaining parts of the district is having water levels between 5-10
mbgl.

A post-monsoon depth to water level map has been prepared using NHS data
(Figire-5). The major part of Uttara Kannada district is having the post monsoon
water levels between 2 to 5 mbgl during 2011. In southern part of the district
around Honavar town the depth to water levels are more than 10 m bgl and
between 5 to 10 mbgl. In major parts of Sirsi and Siddapurtaluks, and small
parts of ankola ,Yellapur, and Mundgodtaluks the depth to water levels are
between 5 to 10 m bgl. In Sirsitaluk around Sirsi town and east of it the depth to
water levels are between 10 to 20mbgl. The area having water levels less than
2 mbgl during November 2011 is observed around Karwar town.

4.1.3 Water Level Fluctuation

The fluctuation of the water level is observed with a rise in the middle part of
the district & fall in the northern &southern parts of the district. Ground water
level fluctuation with respect to decade mean (2001- 2010) for the months of
May and November 2011 is given in figures 6 and 7.

13
Fig. 3

14
Fig 4

15
Fig. 5

16
Fig. 6

17
Fig. 7

18
4.1.4 Ground Water Level Trends.
Though the ground water recharge in the area is a regular natural
phenomenon, the groundwater recharge varies in proportion to the
developmental activities.

The premonsoon water levels for the last 10 years shows rising trends in 25%
of the national hydrograph network stations and declining trends between 0.001
and 1.113 m/yrs.

The postmonsoon water levels for the last 10 years shows rising trends in 81%
of the national hydrograph network stations in the district. The declining
postmonsoon water level trends range between 0.025 and 0.166 m/yrs.

The premonsoon water levels in network piezometers (bore wells) for the last
10 years shows declining trends in 82 % of the stations and the postmonsoon
water levels for the last 10 years shows declining trends in 45 % of the
piezometers in the district. The premonsoon declining water level trends in
these piezometers range between 0.005 and 0.80 m/year. The post monsoon
declining water level trends in these piezometers range between 0.015 and
0.147 m/year.

4.1.5 RESULTS OF GROUND WATER EXPLORATION

The study of aquifer geometry and Parameters have been attempted by Central
Ground Water Board, South western Region, Bangalore, under its ground
water exploration programme through drilling exploratory bore wells at selected
places as depicted in Figure-8. The ground water exploration in the district was
carried out in two phases. During the first phase in 1988-89, 5 exploratory wells
and four observation wells were constructed in coastal alluvium of Honnavar
and Karwar taluks (Appendix-VIA). The depth of the wells ranged between 16-
47 m. wells constructed in the range of 15-16m depth. The discharge recorded
were in the range of 1.88 to 225 lpm for a drawdown of 1.6 to 10.39 m. Aquifer
material encountered was fine to medium sand with altternative layers of silt
and clay.

During the second phase of exploration which started during 2003-04 and
continuing till date 33 wells were drilled with depth range of 89 to 200 m in hard
rock areas of Ankola, Haliyal, Honnavar, Karwar, Kumta, Mundgod, Siddapur,
Sirsi, Supa, and Yellapur taluks. The aquifers tested reveal an effective porosity
of about 1-3% in these rocks(Appendix-VIB). The yield cum recuperation tests
conducted on these wells show that the discharge of the wells ranges from
negligible to 8.5 lps. The salient features of exploratory bore wells drilled and
the aquifer tested are presented as appendix-I. The transmissivity of aquifer
material in general range from 2.09 to 24.41 m2/day.

19
Fig. 8

20
5.0 GROUND WATER RESOURCES

5.1 RESOURCES
Ground water generally occurs in the weaker zones of geological formations
under unconfined to semi-confined conditions. The main known source for
recharge of dynamic water resources is the annual precipitation. Percolation
from the surface water conservation structures and seepages from irrigation
canals and return flow from irrigated agricultural lands also act as recharge
components. The ground water resource estimation study for the whole state
has been carried out for the year 2004, jointly by CGWB, SWR, Bangalore and
Karnataka state ground water department (MGD) for the year 2009 using
Ground Water Estimation Methodology 1997. The ground water estimation
study indicates net annual ground water availability as 51060 ham for the
district for the year 2009 (Table 2).

Table- 2 Ground water resources in Uttara Kannada district as on march-2009

Sl No Taluk Recharge Recharg Recharg Recharge Net annual
from rainfall e from e from from other ground
during other rainfall sources water
monsoon sources during during non- availability
season during non- monsoon (ham)
(ham) monsoo monsoo season
n n (ham)
season season
(ham) (ham)
1 Ankola 4683 57 468 120 3197
2 Bhatkal 7804 431 790 474 5715
3 Haliyal 1021 600 1039 302 6425
4 Honnavar 3605 62 1 132 2352
5 Karwar 1506 32 149 70 1057
6 Kumta 3997 101 60 168 2607
7 Mundgod 4722 502 1090 262 4485
8 Siddapur 6640 414 98 510 5425
9 Sirsi 8227 679 900 457 7100
10 Supa 9446 119 41 245 5911
11 Yallapur 9257 479 974 197 6786
12 Total 60908 3476 5610 2937 51060

5.2 GROUND WATER DRAFT

The taluk wise ground water draft for domestic, industrial and for
irrigation purposes computed for the district in the ground water estimation
studies carried out by CGWB, SWR, Bangalore and State ground water
department, Karnataka, for the year 2009 is given in table –3

21
Table-3 Ground water draft for various purposes during the year 2008-09
Irrigation
Sl No Taluk Ground water draft for Bore well & Existing gross ground water
drinking and industries Dug well draft draft for all uses
(ham) (ham) (ham)
Monsoon (days 153) Non-monsoon
Name of taluk For year (2008-09)
NonMonsoon (212 days) & Monsoon
1 Ankola 213 672 885
2 Bhatkal 629 1804 2433
3 Haliyal 151 1698 1849
4 Honnavar 187 744 931
5 Karwar 123 391 514
6 Kumta 229 866 1095
7 Mundgod 178 1252 1430
8 Siddapur 374 3123 3497
9 Sirsi 379 2670 3049
10 Supa 141 1354 1496
11 Yallapur 219 953 1172
12 Total 2823 15527 18351
The perusal of the preceding table show the annual draft for domestic
and industrial uses as 2823 ham and for irrigation purposes the draft computed
was 15527 ham. Total draft during the year 2009 was 18351 ham. The
maximum draft was observed in Siddapur taluk with 3497 ham and minimum
annual draft of 514 ham was observed in Karwar taluk.

5.3 STAGE OF GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT

The taluk wise stage of ground water development details computed for
the district in the ground water estimation studies carried out by CGWB, SWR,
Bangalore and State ground water department, Karnataka, for the year 2009 is
given in table 4, and map showing watershed wise stage of ground water
development is presented as Figure-9.
Table-4 Taluk wise stage of ground water development studies in Uttara Kannada district
for year 2009
Taluk Allocation Net ground Stage Categorisation as on March 2004(%)
for domestic water of
and availability develop Safe Semicritical Critical O.E area
industrial for future ment in
use for next irrigation %
25 years in developme
(ham) nt (ham)
Ankola 253 2272 28 100 - - -
Bhatkal 777 3133 43 100 - - -
Haliyal 181 4546 29 100 - - -
Honnavar 223 1386 40 100 - - -
Karwar 148 518 49 100 - - -
Kumta 272 1468 42 100 - - -
Mundgod 214 3019 32 100 - - -
Siddapur 425 1909 64 60 - - 40
Sirsi 439 4011 43 70 - - 30
Supa 171 4386 25 100 - - -
Yallapur 260 5574 17 100 - - -
Total 3363 32222 37.5 - - -

22
Fig. 9

23
A perusal of preceding table shows that the district is falling mainly in safe
category except for part of two taluks. The stage of ground water development
is highest in siddapur taluk with 64% development and lowest development is
in Yellapur taluk with 17 %. The ground water development for the whole
district as a whole is 37.5%.

4.3 Unit Area Annual Ground Water Recharge

Sustainability of ground water resource depends mainly on two factors viz.
Annual ground water recharge and annual ground water draft. The annual
ground water recharge depends on the quantity and intensity of rain fall, the
infiltration characteristics of the soil, the depth to ground water level, the slope
of the area and the geomorphology. The ground water recharge is assessed
separately for the monsoon and non monsoon period due to rainfall as well as
due to other sources. The annual ground water recharge includes all the above.

The recharge from other sources includes return seepage from irrigated area,
seepage from canals, seepage from water bodies, seepage from influent rivers
etc. The recharge can be expressed in metres. In the state of Karnataka, the
unit area recharge is grouped into four categories viz. 0.025-0.10m, 0.10-
0.15m, 0.15-0.25m and 0.25-0.50m. In Uttara Kannada district the unit area
annual recharge is in the range of 0.025-0.10m in all the taluks and is shown in
figure. 10.

6.0 GROUND WATER QUALITY

The range in concentration of all major constituents in ground water both during
1989 and 2005 are within safe limits as per BIS and ISMR standards. The
concentration of Nitrates found to be higher during 2005 at Mainahalli(92ppm),
Majalli(92ppm) and at Banavasi (81ppm). This may be attributed to more use of
fertilizers at these locations. During 1989 all constituents in ground water of
Murdeshwar hydrograph station shown in excess, may be because of
construction activity in the vicinity at that time which resulted in heavy pumping
and consequent deterioration of quality in coastal aquifer.

In general the quality of ground water in the urban areas is good and useful for
all purposes. At few places it is observed, that the concentrations of NO3 and
SO4 are found to be increased considerably. However, these chemical
constituents are found within the permissible limits except at few localities.

A perusal of data available on the quality of ground water reveals that few
chemical constituents increased over the period as described earlier. On the
basis of the Electrical Conductivity, Nitrate and Fluoride distribution in the
ground water samples from both CGWB and State ground water departments
observation wells a chemical map is prepared and presented as Figure -11.
The perusal of the electrical conductivity distribution map shows that in the
major part of the district the EC values range between less than 250 and 750
micro mhos/ cm. The EC values in the ground waters in small patches on

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Fig.10

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northern parts of Honavar town, around Bhatkal town and north of Mundgod
town shows higher values of electrical conductivity.

Even though none of the national hydrograph stations have shown excess
fluoride (>1.5), the data collected from state departments show major parts of
Sirsi and Siddapur taluks and small part of Mundgod taluk having fluoride above
the safe limit of 1.5 mg/l. Small patches in Karwar, Sirsi, Siddapur and mundgod
taluk are showing higher concentration of Nitrate in the ground water. The
chemical data indicates the ground water is suitable for both drinking and
irrigation in most part of the district. The vulnerable areas for groundwater
contamination are presented in figure 12.

7.0 STATUS OF GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT

7.1 DRINKING WATER SUPPLY FROM GROUND WATER :
As on march 2006 in uttara Kannada district as many as 6607 boreholes were
drilled for drinking water purpose, out of which 684 borewells are being used for
piped water supply and another 786 borewells/dug wells are used for mini
water supply. Taluk wise data of number of bore wells drilled, No of piped water
supply scheme and number of mini water scheme is given in table No- 5
Table-5 Talukwise status of water supply.
Sl No Taluk No of piped water Miniwater
borewells supply schemes
drilled schemes
1 Ankola 543 45 46
2 Bhatkal 464 19 53
3 Haliyal 625 71 116
4 Honnavar 677 60 88
5 Karwar 473 27 47
6 Kumta 695 73 86
7 Mundgod 637 62 76
8 Siddapur 578 48 60
9 Sirsi 869 94 86
10 Supa 415 165 47
11 Yellapur 626 25 81
12 Total 6607 689 786

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Fig-11

27
Fig. 12

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7.2 IRRIGATION SCENARIO FROM GROUND WATER RESOURCES:
In UttaraKannada district during 05-06 net area under irrigation from ground
water resources was 9342 ha constituting 36.92 % of area irrigated from all
sources. Of which 7302 hactares was under irrigation from dugwells (77.75%)
and 2090 ha was under irrigation fromborewells (22.25%). Taluk wise net area
irrigated from dugwell and borewell is already given in table-4. The perusal of
the table shows Kumtataluk is having maximum of 1699 ha followed by Sirsi
with 1560 ha and honnavar 1442 ha irrigated by dugwells. Mundgodtaluk has
maximum of 964 ha followed by Halyaltaluk with 638 ha under borewell
irrigation.

8.0 GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Even though the district receives good rainfall, because of undulating
topography and very permeable formation at the surface most of the rainwater
escapes either as surface flow or base flow and in many parts of the district
after march there is accute shortage of water even for drinking. So the water
supply sources should be supported by suitable artificial recharge structures or
ground water conservation structures in the vicinity to augment the present
water supply. The areas suitable for artificial recharge and suitable structures
are given in figure 13.

The present ground water development is of low key and still plenty of scope is
there for further development. Still dugwells are the more common abstraction
structures for ground water irrigation. But in recent times bore wells are
becoming more popular. But for irrigation as far as possible dug wells only
should be suggested against bore wells because dugwells along with suitable
artificial structures in the vicinity are more effective and chances of borewell
failure are more. The dug wells as they are depending only on phreatic
aquifers the cropping pattern will be as per the availability from the phreatic
aquifer but borewells as they draw water from phreatic as well as deep seated
aquifers the cropping pattern will not respond to the changes in shallow
aquifers and in long run it may lead to over development of ground water.

The selection of sites for construction of artificial structures and ground water
abstraction structures is site specific so after detailed hydrogeological
investigation only sites may be selected.

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Fig. 13

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9.0. GROUND WATER PROBLEMS AND SPECIAL STUDIES

There are both quantity and quality related ground water problems exist in the
district. Except Halyal and Mundgod taluks whole district receives high rainfall.
The highly undulating topography and highly permeable shallow aquifers allow
the ground water recharged during monsoon to escape as baseflow. Because
of this most part of the district suffers scarcity of water during summer.
Construction of gully plugs, contour bunds and contour trenches at higher
reaches and percolation tanks, nalla bunds, check dams and vented dams at
comparatively lower reaches along with subsurface dams will facilitate more
recharge to ground water and less base flow. In urban and semi-urban areas
rooftop rainwater harvesting coupled with point recharge structures will help in
more recharge to the ground water as well as reduce load on surface water
supply systems. But the depth to water in these areas must be more than 5
mbgl.

The quality problems related to ground water are in the coastal aquifers where
chances of sea ingress are there. High salinity is observed the areas around
Bhatkal in coastal alluvium. So it is necessary to have more observation
stations on the coastal line to keep a watch on the changes in ground water
quality. In Dandeli and Supa areas mining and other industries are producing
toxic wastes and untreated effluents, which may cause deterioration in
chemical quality which will be very difficult to reverse. So a constant check on
ground water quality in these areas is required. Fluoride contamination is
reported from large areas in siddapur and sirsi taluks. So it is necessary to
demarcate the affected areas and to develop the shallow aquifers in these
affected areas.
10.0 RECOMMENDATIONS.
Considering the prevailing scenario of the groundwater resources and
development the following recommendations are made for the optimum drawl
with sustainable development of resources in the area.
1) The dug wells, which penetrate partially the weathered, fractured zones
of the aquifers, may be deepened further for better productivity.
2) Construction of check dams and sub surface dykes at appropriate
places across nallahs and streams located in the water table depleting
areas, and the areas where water quality problem exists may be taken
on priority basis.
3) Sinking of the filter points and collector wells with the maximum depth of
–4-6 m in the alluvial stretches of river banks and in coastal alluviums
would be ideal ground water abstraction structures.
4) In the hard rock terrain, in the areas with shallow water table sinking of
suitable dug well and dug-cum-bore well with a maximum depth of 8 and
30 m recommended respectively for the structures. As the whole district
comes under safe category there is still scope for further ground water
development. But all the ground water resources development should be
incorporated with ground water conservation measures.
5) Even though the district receives good rainfall, considering the water
scarcity in some pockets during peak summer, a comprehensive
programme should be formulated to harvest the rain water through roof

31
top, check dams, surface tanks, and bunds to enhance the recharge to
the ground water and also the subsurface dykes to arrest the sub
surface flows and augment the groundwater resources.
6) The ground water worthy areas such as topographic lows, valley
portions low fluctuations zones should be developed with an adequate
soil conservation measures to prevent the soil erosions during rainy
seasons.
7) Constant monitoring of ground water quality should be carried out in the
fluoride contaminated areas and industrial and mining belts to prevent
further deterioration and related problems. The determination of trace
elements and organic compounds is to be done to help in categorizing
the quality of water.
8) A detailed geophysical studies with the help of the state of the art
technology should be conducted to demarcate the extent of potential
aquifers and it’s geometry, especially in coastal areas to know the
relationship between sea water and ground water.
9) As the shallow aquifer is free from fluoride, compared to deeper aquifer
this has to be preserved by watershed approach. Desilting and
maintaining of these tanks are utmost importance. So the natural
recharge will take place without any hindrance and this will recharge the
shallow aquifer mainly, which can be used for drinking use, which is free
from fluoride in major part of the area.
10) The farming community in the valley and low lying regions should be
encouraged with financial assistance and necessary technical guidance
to sink appropriate abstraction structures, to install pump sets, to
practice modern irrigation methods thereby to strengthen their economy.
It is also recommended to bring an estimated 64161ha of land to irrigate
through balance of ground water resources. For irrigation as far as
possible dug wells may be preferred over bore wells to avoid failure of
both dug and bore wells due to heavy abstraction from bore wells.
11) Conjunctive use of both Surface and Ground water may be practiced in
the canal command area to improve the quality of ground water and to
prevent the water logging conditions and to make available the canal
water to the tail end areas.

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Annexure 1

DISTRICT AND TALUK WISE RAINFALL FOR THE YEAR 2011, UTTARA KANNADA DISTRICT, KARNATAKA

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY PRE JUN JUL AUG SEPT SWM OCT NOV DEC NEM ANNUAL
DISTRICTS/ TALUKS Rainfall (mm)
UTTRA KANNADA 0 1 1 63 27 92 864 925 749 457 2994 105 44 0 150 3236
1 ANKOLA 0 0 0 27 0 27 930 1411 869 437 3647 80 6 0 86 3760
2 BHATKAL 0 0 0 31 31 62 1137 1257 1271 626 4291 108 63 0 171 4524
3 HALIYAL 0 7 0 78 80 165 333 252 269 196 1050 88 33 0 121 1336
4 HONNAVAR 0 0 0 133 24 157 1039 1300 1172 613 4124 55 19 0 74 4355
5 KARWAR 0 0 0 18 0 18 964 1165 855 392 3376 72 22 0 94 3488
6 KUMTA 0 0 0 87 12 99 977 1167 1144 629 3917 75 6 0 81 4097
7 MUNDGOD 0 1 0 33 19 53 246 180 218 170 814 158 50 0 208 1075
8 SIDDAPUR 0 0 0 65 21 86 976 1164 621 636 3397 113 88 0 201 3684
9 SIRSI 0 0 14 92 72 178 1120 754 578 540 2992 184 81 0 265 3435
10 SUPA 0 3 0 82 10 95 983 732 592 347 2654 138 73 0 211 2960
11 YELLAPUR 0 0 0 43 26 69 797 790 651 438 2676 88 48 0 136 2881

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