Hydrometerological Study of Kuthaleru River Basin, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Kuthaleru River Basin comes under semi-arid zone. The rainfall data for 13 years (2001-02 to 2013-14) of the study area reveal that only four years (2001-02, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2010- 11) had sufficient rainfall and rest of the 9 years are drought-prone with varying intensities. Out of the 9 drought years, 3 years (2003-04, 2007-08 and 2008-2009) experienced disastrous type of drought and only 1 year (2002-03) comes under severe type. The rest of the six years have experienced moderate to slightly drought conditions. The area receives maximum amount of rainfall from southwest monsoon. The seasonal variations in the ground water also correlate with the data of the rainfall. The water level has shown a rise during November-December months due to the rainfall percolation during October to December months. The water levels start to decline from the month of February and reaches maximum in the month of June. This is mainly due to the depletion of rainfall and groundwater withdrawals for irrigation.