Cauvery Water Connection Areas in Bangalore: 2026 Guide

A pipe in the street is not the same as water in your flat. A building gets Cauvery supply only after it applies, pays and is connected. This guide shows which areas are covered, what a connection costs, and what an apartment buyer should check before booking.

What is Cauvery Stage 5, and which areas does it cover?

Cauvery Stage 5 is a ₹4,336 crore scheme funded mainly by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. BWSSB said it would add 775 MLD and serve about five million people when it was inaugurated on 16 October 2024. Raw water comes from TK Halli through a 69.5 km transmission line to Vajarahalli, and the scheme includes a 775 MLD treatment plant, trunk mains and ground-level reservoirs.

Its target is the 110 villages that sit inside the old BBMP limits but never had piped Cauvery water. Citizen Matters, reporting BWSSB planning figures, described them as covering about 225 sq km and 11 lakh people at the 2011 census, spread across five zones:

• Mahadevapura zone (23 villages): includes Vijayanagar and Kadugodi. See homes in Kadugodi, Bangalore.
• Bommanahalli zone (33 villages): includes Doddakanehalli, Singasandra and Kudlu.
• Byatarayanapura zone (26 villages): includes Chikkabettahalli, Doddabettahalli, Chokkanahalli and Srinivaspura.
• RR Nagar zone (17 villages): includes Uttarahalli and Sonnenahalli. See Uttarahalli, Bangalore.
• Dasarahalli zone (11 villages): includes HMT Layout.

Which localities have Cauvery water today?

Think of Bengaluru in four water bands. The band your flat falls in decides both whether piped water is possible and which one-time charges apply.

• Core city: served by Cauvery Stages 1 to 4 for years. New connections pay the standard BWSSB charges.
• Former CMC areas and Kengeri: the seven erstwhile City Municipal Council areas and Kengeri were piped under the Greater Bangalore Water and Sanitation Project (GBWASP) and pay a one-time GBWASP fee on top of standard charges.
• The 110 villages: piped under Stage 5. In March 2025 the BWSSB chairman told Deccan Herald that 104 of the 110 villages had been given water and that connections had risen from about 63,000 before commissioning to 86,900.
• Outside the city: towns such as Nelamangala, Hoskote and Devanahalli have no BWSSB house connections yet. They are the target of Stage 6.

Which villages were still waiting?

In January 2025 Deccan Herald listed eight villages that had not yet received supply: K Narayanapura, Geddalahalli, Byrathi, Bilishivale, Chokkanahalli, Thirumenahalli, Bellahalli and Kattigenahalli. BWSSB blamed land issues in Kadugodi and Chokkanahalli that held up reservoir construction, one of them pending in court. Two months later the count of villages without water had fallen to six. We could not find a later official list, so if a project is in one of these villages, ask BWSSB's local subdivision office whether water is flowing in that exact street.

Delays inside covered villages also happen for a simpler reason. BWSSB said its distribution lines in these villages were laid in 2018 and some were damaged over six years by other utilities' works, so leaks were being traced and fixed as water was released.

Which areas are getting Cauvery water next under Stage 6?

On 26 February 2026 the Karnataka cabinet approved Cauvery Stage 6 at ₹6,939 crore to bring another 500 MLD to the city. Deccan Herald named Madanayakanahalli, Chikkabanavara, Nelamangala, Hoskote, Devanahalli, Vijayapura and surrounding areas as the beneficiaries. The same report said Bengaluru receives 2,275 MLD of Cauvery water under the existing schemes.

The delivery model matters for buyers. BWSSB will supply water in bulk, and the local urban bodies will lay the pipes and give house connections. So for a project in Hoskote, Bangalore or Devanahalli, Bangalore, the question is not just 'when does Stage 6 finish' but 'when will this town lay a line to this street'. No commissioning date had been published when we checked.

What does a Cauvery water connection cost?

Citizen Matters compiled BWSSB's charges in March 2025. The main items for a home are:

• Application fee: ₹100.
• Pro-rata charge (one-time, non-refundable): ₹400 per sq m of built-up area for houses, apartments, villas and group housing; ₹600 per sq m for non-residential.
• Inspection: ₹250 for a house; ₹1,000 for apartments up to 50 units; ₹2,000 for 50 to 100 units, with more for larger complexes.
• Beneficiary Contribution Charge (110 villages only), per flat: ₹5,000 up to 600 sq ft, ₹10,000 for 600 to 1,200 sq ft, ₹20,000 for 1,200 to 2,400 sq ft, ₹30,000 above 2,400 sq ft. Domestic sites pay nil up to 600 sq ft, then ₹8,350, ₹16,760 and ₹25,050.
• GBWASP fee (former CMC areas and Kengeri only), per flat: ₹4,000, ₹8,000, ₹16,000 or ₹24,000 by the same size bands.
• Sewage connection: ₹600 for up to five sanitary points, ₹120 per extra point.
• Meter: ₹965 for a half-inch mechanical meter; a three-month minimum deposit of ₹315 for a 15 mm domestic line.

Worked example: what one flat's share looks like

Take a 1,100 sq ft flat in an apartment block inside the 110 villages. Pro-rata charges are calculated on built-up area, so convert first: 1,100 sq ft ÷ 10.764 = 102.2 sq m. At ₹400 per sq m, that is about ₹40,880. Add the Beneficiary Contribution Charge for the 600 to 1,200 sq ft band, ₹10,000, and the flat's share is about ₹50,880 before small items such as the application, inspection, sanitary and meter charges.

Under the Sarala Cauvery scheme launched in May 2025, apartments and buildings above 600 sq ft can pay 20% of the demand notice upfront and the remaining 80% in 12 monthly instalments, and BWSSB gives the physical connection after the first 20%. On ₹50,880, that is about ₹10,180 upfront and about ₹3,390 a month for a year. Houses up to 600 sq ft can start with ₹1,000.

One warning from BWSSB itself: in March 2025 its chairman said some apartment owners had paid pro-rata charges to builders that never reached the board. Before you pay a builder a 'water' or 'BWSSB' line item, ask for the BWSSB demand note and the payment receipt in the association's or promoter's name.

How much is the monthly water bill after the 2025 revision?

BWSSB revised tariffs from 10 April 2025, the first change in about 11 years. Deccan Herald reported domestic increases of 0.15 paise to 1 paisa per litre depending on the slab, a minimum increase for domestic high-rise buildings of 0.3 paise, and a 25% rise in sewerage charges, showing in bills from May 2025. The South First listed the domestic increases as 0.15 paise up to 8,000 litres, 0.40 paise for 8,000 to 25,000 litres and 0.80 paise for 25,000 to 50,000 litres, and reported that the board planned an annual 3% increase.

Even after the revision, piped water costs far less than tanker water. Take 18,000 litres a month. On the pre-2025 domestic slabs compiled by Citizen Matters (₹7 per 1,000 litres up to 8,000 litres, ₹11 from 8,001 to 25,000), that is 8 × ₹7 + 10 × ₹11 = ₹166. Add the 2025 increases of 0.15 paise a litre on the first 8,000 litres (₹12) and 0.40 paise on the next 10,000 (₹40), and the water charge is about ₹218 before sanitary charges. One 6,000 litre tanker from BWSSB's own Sanchari Cauvery service costs ₹740.

What Cauvery water means for apartment buyers

• Compliance comes first. When Stage 5 opened, BWSSB said only apartments following National Green Tribunal norms would get connections: an STP for complexes above 120 flats, at least 30% of treated water reused for non-drinking purposes, and aerators on taps.
• Supply is rationed. BWSSB planned to supply apartments two to three times a week at launch, so the building still needs sump storage and a backup.
• Documents decide speed. New applications need the sale deed, khata, sanctioned plan and, for plots of 1,200 sq ft and above, proof of rainwater harvesting. See A-Khata, B-Khata and e-Khata in Bengaluru (2026): What a Buyer Must Check Now for the khata side.
• Approval times are stated as up to 14 days for residential and 42 days for high-rise or commercial, though Citizen Matters found some took much longer.
• Only BWSSB-registered plumbers may do the connection work, and BWSSB says no agents are authorised.
• BWSSB has floated making Cauvery connections mandatory for apartments. Treat that as a proposal until notified.

How to check whether a specific project has Cauvery water

For the wider water checklist (borewells, STP and rainwater harvesting), and for low-lying sites, read Flood Prone Areas in Bangalore 2026: Lake Buffer Check Before Buying as well. In east Bengaluru, Varthur & Gunjur Buyer's Guide 2026: Water, Roads and Real Prices covers the local water picture.

• Ask the builder or association for the BWSSB connection number (RR number) and a recent water bill. No bill, no connection.
• For a new project, ask for the BWSSB demand note and the pro-rata payment receipt. Note whose name it is in.
• Open the K-RERA project page and read the declared water source. Citizen Matters flags 'self-development' as the answer that needs a follow-up question.
• Visit the local BWSSB subdivision office and ask whether the line in that street is charged and how many days a week it runs.
• Ask residents of a neighbouring building when water last came, and how many tankers they bought last summer.
• In the 110 villages, check whether the village is on the delayed list above.
• If supply is not yet live, ask whether the association already books BWSSB tankers through Sanchari Cauvery, which opened to bulk apartment bookings in May 2025.