17.-Impact of urbanisation on groundwater regime in Vishakhapatnam Urban area, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Visakhapatnam, one of the fastest growing cities in the country has witnessed large-scale industrialisation and urbanisation during the last four decades. With the estimated population of 13 lakhs in Visakhapatnam Urban Area (VUA) and a large number of industries, the water demands have increased drastically. The attempts to meet the water demands through surface water sources have not been commensurate with requirements and there is considerable gap between Municipal water supply and demand. As a result there is a stress on ground water. With the urbanisation processes, ground water recharge is also affected greatly. Added to these, the increased industrialisation and urbanisation coupled with lack of environment protection measures have led to deterioration of ground water quality.