Hebbal Lake · Lakes of Bendakaluru

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1915 to 1926, 1928 to 1954, 1956 to 1977 and 1979 to 1983.

Water seen by satellite each year, up to 100 acres. Grey: years it saw under half the lake

What covers it each year:waterbuilt on or bareplants or weed

1914

1927

1955

1978

1984

1914
Built
As the 2018 lake survey records it
See source
1927
On the survey map
See source
1955
On the U.S. Army map
Compiled from Survey of India maps of 1945-46
See source
1978
On the survey map
See source
1984-2021
Held water every year
Water in 44% of all satellite passes, 1984-2024
7% of its water area has since gone dry; 12% is new water
4 years not counted: the satellite saw under half the lake
Floating weed looks like dry land to this record, so a weed-covered year can read as dry
See source See source
1986
Listed as a live tank by the Lakshman Rau committee
Printed as Hebbal tank, tank 293
64.5 ha, as printed in the 1986 report
Among the tanks between Tumkur Road and Bellary Road
Condition
“The tank is a live tank located long Bellary Road The water is covered with hycinth and is used for irrigetion purposes. The Forest Dept. hag developed & good Nursery on the southern gide”
Land use the 1984 development plan proposed
“Regional park”
What the committee recommended
“Regional park & foreshore planting, Removal of encroachments & wiiter hyacinth by Minor Irrigation Dept. Tourist facilities by K.S.2.D.0”
Quoted from a scan of the report, so the words may carry reading errors
See source
2017-2018
In the water bodies census, not marked as encroached
This census's status marks are often wrong
See source
2017-2025
Mostly water every year
About three in four of these readings are right, so trust what holds for several years
See source
2018
Still there in the 2018 lake survey
10% encroached, polluted, 192 acres surveyed
Restored, year not recorded
See source
2023-2026
Tested by the state board in 30 months, most often fit only for wildlife and fish
Jul 2023 to Feb 2026
See every test See source
2025-2026
Mostly open water after the monsoon; mostly dry or built in the dry season
After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025
61% open water
36% floating weed
4% dry or built
Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026
2% open water
13% floating weed
85% dry or built
See source

How big it is

The records disagree on its size, so each measure is shown.

Drawn outline

132 acres

About 75 football pitches

See source

2018 lake survey

192 acres

About 109 football pitches

See source

End to end

1.3 km

The longest straight line across the outline

See source

Deepest point, 2018

5 m

See source

Kind of lake

Kere, a large tank

See source

How clean the water is

Latest test

Fit only for irrigation

Fit only for irrigation, cooling and waste disposal. Class E on the state board’s scale from A, the cleanest, to E.

Tested Feb 2026

See source

Class each month, tested 30 times since Jul 2023

Drinkable after disinfection

Fit for bathing

Drinkable after treatment

Fit only for wildlife and fish

Fit only for irrigation

See source

How it looked in 2018

Polluted

See source

What pollutes it, 2018

Sewage & road runoff

See source

Sewage flows in, 2018

From the south and west

See source

Older tests

4 readings

From 2011 and 2021

See source See source

Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18

1 readings

See source

Every reading

Show every reading

Latest test, Feb 2026. Too low to measure: boron, carbonate, phenolphthalein alkalinity

Measure	Unit	Value
Water temperature	°C	26
Dissolved oxygen	mg/L	1.6
pH		7.3
Conductivity	µS/cm	714
BOD	mg/L	17
Nitrate	mg/L as N	2.74
Nitrite	mg/L as N	0.55
Faecal coliform	MPN/100mL	21,000
Total coliform	MPN/100mL	46,000
Turbidity	NTU	23.6
Total alkalinity	mg/L as CaCO3	152
Chloride	mg/L	108
COD	mg/L	136
Kjeldahl nitrogen	mg/L as N	8.55
Ammonia nitrogen	mg/L as N	5.7
Total hardness	mg/L as CaCO3	164
Calcium hardness	mg/L as CaCO3	92
Calcium	mg/L	36.8
Magnesium hardness	mg/L as CaCO3	72
Magnesium	mg/L	17.5
Sulphate	mg/L	22
Sodium	mg/L	70
Dissolved solids	mg/L	486
Suspended solids	mg/L	32
Phosphate	mg/L	1.11
Potassium	mg/L	7
Fluoride	mg/L	1.25
Sodium share	%	47
Sodium adsorption ratio		2.38
Orthophosphate	mg/L	2.84

Every month the state board tested it

Month	Class	Dissolved oxygenmg/L	BODmg/L	Faecal coliformMPN/100mL	Total coliformMPN/100mL	Source
Feb 2026	E	1.6	17	21,000	46,000	See source
Jan 2026	D	4.9	5	220	2,400	See source
Dec 2025	D	5.8	6	470	4,300	See source
Nov 2025	E	2.9	19	3,200	12,000	See source
Oct 2025	D	5.3	7	270	3,500	See source
Sep 2025	D	5.3	7	270	3,500	See source
Aug 2025	D	5.3	5	210	3,500	See source
Jul 2025	D	6.8	5	14	94	See source
Jun 2025	D	5.3	8	140	3,500	See source
May 2025	D	4.8	8	1,300	7,900	See source
Apr 2025	D	5.9	6	1,100	7,900	See source
Mar 2025	D	5.8	7	250	3,500	See source
Feb 2025	D	4.8	8	1,700	11,000	See source
Jan 2025	D	6	8	240	2,800	See source
Dec 2024	D	4.9	7	310	3,500	See source
Nov 2024	D	4.3	9	210	2,200	See source
Oct 2024	E	3.2	13	210	3,500	See source
Sep 2024	D	6.8	6	310	3,500	See source
Aug 2024	D	5.9	6	3,100	9,400	See source
Jul 2024	D	7.2	8	4,300	14,000	See source
Jun 2024	D	6.9	6.3	170	2,400	See source
May 2024	E		26	3,100	9,400	See source
Mar 2024	E	2.2	28	2,200	9,400	See source
Feb 2024	D	5	7	470	5,400	See source
Jan 2024	D	6	4	4,700	22,000	See source
Dec 2023	D	5.3	4	4,300	54,000	See source
Oct 2023	D	6.1	4	4,100	24,000	See source
Sep 2023	D	4.3	8	1,200	16,000	See source
Aug 2023	D	4.2	11	4,800	92,000	See source
Jul 2023	D	4.7	8	2,300	54,000	See source

Older tests

Date	Where	Reading	Chloride	Phosphate	Suspended solidsmg/L	Dissolved oxygenmg/L	CODmg/L	Nitratemg/L as N	Total hardness	Fluoride	pH	Zinc	Manganese	E coli	Total coliformMPN/100mL	Water temperature°C	ConductivityµS/cm	BODmg/L	Nitrate and nitritemg/L as N	Faecal coliformMPN/100mL	Source
2011	Hebbal Kere, Inlet		126	1	20	3.2	18.9	5.22	264	0.33	7.65	0.18	0.26	1,600	1,600						See source
2011	Hebbal Kere, Outlet		185	0.01	39		18.9	3.53	212	0.36	8.56	0.08	0.18								See source
2021	Hebbal Lake, Lake	Lowest				3.2					6.4				35,000	25	303	3	0.9	4,000	See source
2021	Hebbal Lake, Lake	Highest				6.9					7.4				35,00,000	25	974	16	4	4,80,000	See source

Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18 lake survey

Date	Where	Water temperature°C	pH	ConductivityµS/cm	Dissolved solidsmg/L	Suspended solidsmg/L	TurbidityNTU	Dissolved oxygenmg/L	CODmg/L	BODmg/L	Total phosphate	Kjeldahl nitrogenmg/L as N	Total coliformMPN/100mL
2017-11-22	Inlet	25.4	7.5	892	600	8	10	4	80	4	2	1	1,600

See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline

0.1%

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source

Encroached area, 2017

50.6 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source

Encroached by

The public and private owners

See source

Taken for

Road & nursery

See source

Where it is encroached

On the south side

See source

Who looks after it

Looked after by

Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority

KLCDA

See source

Campaign pages

facebook.com

See source

Where its water comes from and goes

Valley

Hebbal

The river basin its water drains to

Water comes from

Overflows into

Catchment

33.6 km²

The land that drains into it

See source

Fed by, 2018 survey

Rain & drain fed

See source

Built parts, 2018 survey

2 inlet drains, 1 overflow weir, no sluice gates, 1 culvert, no check dams and 3 islands

See source

Used for, 2018 survey

Fishing and park maintenance

See source

Nearest sewage treatment plant

Sewage Treatment Plant

1.7 km away

See source

What lives here

Birds recorded

181 species

Most seen: Black Kite, Indian Pond-Heron, Brahminy Kite, Spot-billed duck and Great Cormorant.

9,302 sightings, mostly from birdwatchers

See source

All wildlife recorded

230 species

9,374 records, 1920 to 2026

See source

Threatened species seen here

10

Spot-billed Pelican near threatened
River Tern vulnerable
Indian Roller near threatened
Black-tailed Godwit near threatened
Greater spotted eagle vulnerable
Woolly-necked Stork near threatened
Pallid Harrier near threatened
Egyptian Vulture endangered
Red-necked Falcon near threatened
Common Pochard vulnerable

See source

Photographed on iNaturalist

141 times

84 species, 99 confirmed by other naturalists.

Most seen: Coromandel Marsh Dart, Common Picture Wing, Eurasian Coot, Three-striped Palm Squirrel and Common Evening Brown.

Last seen Apr 2026

See source

Animals seen, 2018 survey

Birds, butterflies and dragonflies

See source

Water plants, 2018 survey

Emergent, submerged and free floating

See source

Weed cover, 2018 survey

Partial

See source

Around it

Around it in 2018

Settlement, park, STP & Defence

See source

Photos

Hebbal Lake, photographed in 2014 — S N Barid / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2014

Hebbal Lake, photographed in 2011 — कोल्हापुरी / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2011

Where it is

Ward 14

Rajiv Gandhi Nagar

ರಾಜೀವ್ ಗಾಂಧಿ ನಗರ

Bengaluru North corporation, Byatarayanapura assembly seat

See source

Village

Hebbal

Kasaba hobli, Bengaluru North taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source

Land survey numbers

38 (Hebbal: Kasaba), 37 (Kodigihalli, Yelahanka)

See source

Height above sea level

900 m

See source

Coordinates

13.0472° N, 77.5867° E

See source

Hebbal Lake is located in the north of Bangalore at the mouth of National Highway 7, along the junction of Bellary Road and the Outer Ring Road (ORR). Epigraphic evidence suggests that the lake is much older than commonly assumed. The presence of the Bhoopasandra inscription, dated to the 8th century CE and found near the lake, indicates human settlement and religious activity in the area around 1,300 years ago. Further insights into the region's antiquity come from the work of historian and epigraphist Dr. P. V. Krishnamurthy. In his study of the Bhoopasandra inscription, he documents a grant made to a Durga idol, originally located near the Hebbal lake bund. The inscription references individuals associated with agrarian professions and water management, suggesting the existence of organized settlements and water bodies in the area over 1,200 years ago. This evidence indicates that Hebbal Lake, or its precursor, may have been integral to the region's socio-economic fabric during that period.

Read Hebbal Lake, Bengaluru on Wikipedia

See source

Kannada Wikipedia

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಉತ್ತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಹಾಗು ಹೊರ ವರ್ತುಲ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕೂಡುವಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಒಂದು ಕೆರೆ, ೧೫೩೭ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡರು ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ ಕೆರೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಒಂದು. 2000 ರ ಒಂದು ಅಧ್ಯಯನದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆರೆಯ ಹರಡುವಿಕೆ 75 ಹೆ ಕಂಡುಬಂತು, 143 ಹೆ ತುಂಬಲು ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸುವ ಯೋಜಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.

ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಳ ಕೆರೆ

See source

OpenStreetMap