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The assessment, based on more than 2,200 groundwater samples collected during pre- and post-monsoon seasons, found contamination from fluoride, nitrate and salinity.
Villagers fill drinking water into plastic pots in a village in Mahabubnagar, one of the drought-affected districts in Telangana. A Suresh Kumar
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HYDERABAD: Improved groundwater levels across Telangana have not translated into safer drinking water. Despite groundwater rising in 98% of monitored wells following excess rainfall and strong recharge, the latest assessment by the groundwater department has found persistent fluoride and nitrate contamination across several districts.
The report recorded fluoride levels as high as 13.9 mg/l in Mancherial district and nitrate concentrations of 697 mg/l in Nizamabad and 683 mg/l in Kamareddy. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, the permissible limits are 1.5 mg/l for fluoride and 50 mg/l for nitrate in drinking water.
A report by the Ministry of Jal Shakti further revealed that 28 districts in Telangana have excess fluoride, while 32 of the state’s 33 districts exceed safe nitrate limits, making Telangana the third-worst state in the country for nitrate pollution.
The assessment, based on more than 2,200 groundwater samples collected during pre- and post-monsoon seasons, found contamination from fluoride, nitrate and salinity in several parts of the state.
Fluoride contamination remains one of Telangana’s most significant groundwater quality concerns. Affected districts include Nalgonda, Rangareddy, Siddipet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Hanamkonda, Jangaon, Bhadradri Kothagudem, and parts of Nagarkurnool and Mahbubnagar. Fluoride concentrations ranged from 0.01 mg/l in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district to 13.9 mg/l in Mancherial during the pre-monsoon season.
Nitrate contamination is even more widespread, with elevated levels detected in isolated pockets of nearly every district. Experts attribute this largely to human activities such as excessive use of chemical fertilisers, agricultural runoff, sewage seepage and wastewater infiltration.
The report notes that fluoride contamination is primarily linked to Telangana’s geology. Nearly 81% of the state is underlain by hard-rock formations, including granites, gneisses, schists, quartzites and Deccan basalts. Groundwater stored in these formations remains in prolonged contact with fluoride-bearing minerals, causing fluoride to dissolve into aquifers over time.
Environmental