Lakes of Bendakaluru

Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Puttenahalli Lake

ಪುಟ್ಟೇನಹಳ್ಳಿ ಕೆರೆ

Also called Puttenahalli Kere, Puttenhalli Lake

Kere, a large tank, in Puttenahalli ward, Bengaluru South

See it on the map
Size
8.04 acresAbout 4.6 football pitches
Rank by size
852nd largestOf 1,621 lakes that still exist
Valley
Koramangala-Challaghatta
Who looks after it
BBMPBruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
Water quality
Fit only for irrigationTested Jul 2026
Built over
0.3% of the lakeSatellite, 2021. The 2018 survey found 4% encroached.
Campaign
Residents are organising here

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1905 to 1944, 1946 to 1979 and 1981 to 1983.

The records listed below, drawn on one line from 1904 to 2026.

  1. 1904

    Built

    As the 2018 lake survey records it

    See source

  2. 1945

    On the survey map

    See source

  3. 1980

    On the survey map

    See source

  4. 1984-2021

    Held water in 6 of 38 years

    Water in 6% of all satellite passes, 1984-2024

    0% of its water area has since gone dry; 38% is new water

    Floating weed looks like dry land to this record, so a weed-covered year can read as dry

    See sourceSee source

  5. 2017-2018

    In the water bodies census, not marked as encroached

    This census's status marks are often wrong

    See source

  6. 2017-2025

    Mostly water in most years

    About three in four of these readings are right, so trust what holds for several years

    See source

  7. 2018

    Still there in the 2018 lake survey

    4% encroached, clean, 13.6 acres surveyed

    See source

  8. 2023-2026

    Tested by the state board in 35 months, most often fit only for wildlife and fish

    Aug 2023 to Jul 2026

    See every testSee source

  9. 2025-2026

    Mostly open water after the monsoon and in the dry season

    After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025

    • 69% open water
    • 26% floating weed
    • 5% dry or built

    Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026

    • 74% open water
    • 17% floating weed
    • 8% dry or built
    See source

How big it is

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

Drawn outline
8.04 acres

About 4.6 football pitches

See source
Land records
13.6 acres

About 7.7 football pitches

See source
2018 lake survey
13.6 acres

About 7.7 football pitches

See source
End to end
326 m

The longest straight line across the outline

See source
Deepest point, 2018
3 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 Jul 2026

See source
Class each month, tested 35 times since Aug 2023
Fit only for wildlife and fish: 29 months. Fit only for irrigation: 6 months. Every month is listed in the readings below.
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
Clean
See source
What pollutes it, 2018

Sewage

See source
Sewage flows in, 2018

From the south-east

See source
Older tests
2 readings

From 2021

See source
Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18
1 readings
See source
Every reading
Show every reading

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

MeasureUnitValue
Water temperature°C26
Dissolved oxygenmg/L1.1
pH6.6
ConductivityµS/cm386
BODmg/L20
Nitratemg/L as N1.6
Faecal coliformMPN/100mL390
Total coliformMPN/100mL2,100
Bicarbonatemg/L80
TurbidityNTU18.1
Total alkalinitymg/L as CaCO380
Chloridemg/L56
CODmg/L196
Kjeldahl nitrogenmg/L as N18.6
Ammonia nitrogenmg/L as N18.1
Total hardnessmg/L as CaCO396
Calcium hardnessmg/L as CaCO352
Calciummg/L20.8
Magnesium hardnessmg/L as CaCO344
Magnesiummg/L10.7
Sulphatemg/L18
Sodiummg/L38
Dissolved solidsmg/L264
Suspended solidsmg/L22
Phosphatemg/L0.84
Potassiummg/L8
Fluoridemg/L0.26
Sodium share%43
Sodium adsorption ratio1.7
Orthophosphatemg/L2.43

Every month the state board tested it

MonthClassDissolved oxygenmg/LBODmg/LFaecal coliformMPN/100mLTotal coliformMPN/100mLSource
Jul 2026E1.1203902,100See source
Jun 2026D4.794805,400See source
May 2026D5.765804,300See source
Apr 2026D596303,500See source
Mar 2026D5.556304,300See source
Feb 2026D5.474901,500See source
Jan 2026D6.1432920See source
Dec 2025D6.443902,200See source
Nov 2025D553409,200See source
Oct 2025D4.881503,500See source
Sep 2025D4.173103,500See source
Aug 2025E2.9222401,700See source
Jul 2025E2.551702,400See source
Jun 2025D5.483,1007,000See source
May 2025D582602,800See source
Apr 2025D5.85120920See source
Mar 2025D4.1187804,300See source
Feb 2025D6.571701,400See source
Jan 2025D5.3101703,500See source
Dec 2024D5.8432920See source
Nov 2024D4.342304,300See source
Oct 2024E3.6101402,400See source
Sep 2024D5.173909,200See source
Aug 2024D562603,500See source
Jul 2024D6.842403,500See source
Jun 2024E3.7163,10011,000See source
May 2024D4.28See source
Apr 2024D4.653402,800See source
Mar 2024E3.1121,4004,900See source
Feb 2024D5.353103,500See source
Jan 2024D5.8523,0002,40,000See source
Dec 2023D5.6648016,000See source
Oct 2023D5.753,10035,000See source
Sep 2023D4.3114809,200See source
Aug 2023D4.244,80054,000See source

Older tests

DateWhereReadingWater temperature°CDissolved oxygenmg/LpHConductivityµS/cmBODmg/LNitrate and nitritemg/L as NFaecal coliformMPN/100mLTotal coliformMPN/100mLSource
2021Puttenahalli Lake (s), LakeLowest254.76.929031.14,00035,000See source
2021Puttenahalli Lake (s), LakeHighest2567.81,2331139,40054,000See source

Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18 lake survey

DateWhereWater temperature°CLight transparencycmpHConductivityµS/cmDissolved solidsmg/LSuspended solidsmg/LTurbidityNTUDissolved oxygenmg/LCODmg/LBODmg/LTotal phosphateKjeldahl nitrogenmg/L as NTotal coliformMPN/100mL
2018-02-0623.4728.25674808165.1247.72141,600
See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline
0.3%

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source
Encroached area, 2017
3.48 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source
Encroached by

Government agencies and private owners

See source
Taken for

Road & houses

See source
Where it is encroached

On the east and south-east side

See source
Dumped in it

Garbage & construction debris

See source
Land record maps
See source
Land within 500 m

74% built, 24% trees, 0.6% crops, 0.5% grass, 0.5% shrubs

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source

Who looks after it

Looked after by
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

BBMP

See source
City work on the lake
Developed
See source
City zone
Bommanahalli
See source
City lake page

Open its page on the city’s lake monitoring site

See source
Campaign pages
See source

Where its water comes from and goes

Valley
Koramangala-Challaghatta

The river basin its water drains to

See source
Overflows into

Madiwala Lake

See source
Catchment
0.9 km²

The land that drains into it

See source
Fed by, 2018 survey

Rain & drain fed

See source
Built parts, 2018 survey

5 inlet drains, 1 overflow weir, no sluice gates, no culverts, no check dams and 1 island

See source
Used for, 2018 survey

Park maintenance

See source
Nearest sewage treatment plant

Sarakki 5MLD Sewage Treatment Plant

1.5 km away, treats 5 million litres a day

See source

What lives here

Birds recorded
125 species

Most seen: Western Swamphen, Indian Pond-Heron, Eurasian Coot, Black Kite and White-throated Kingfisher.

10,366 sightings, mostly from birdwatchers

See source
All wildlife recorded
255 species

11,125 records, 2005 to 2026

See source
Threatened species seen here
4
  • Spot-billed Pelican near threatened
  • Indian Roller near threatened
  • Woolly-necked Stork near threatened
  • Pink trumpet-tree near threatened
See source
Photographed on iNaturalist
646 times

204 species, 439 confirmed by other naturalists.

Most seen: Gray-headed Swamphen, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Oriental Darter, Eurasian Coot and Great Cormorant.

Last seen Sep 2026

See source
Animals seen, 2018 survey

Birds

See source
Water plants, 2018 survey

Emergent, submerged and rooted floating

See source
Weed cover, 2018 survey

Partial

See source

Around it

Around it in 2018

Agriculture, settlement & plantation

See source
Surveyor's note, 2018

Mr. Vinaya Kumar, IFS (3.11.16)

See source

Photos

Puttenahalli Lake, photographed in 2017
SlowPhoton / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2017
Puttenahalli Lake, photographed in 2014
Sri BSK Birthday PAR… / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2014
Puttenahalli Lake, photographed in 2014
Sri BSK Birthday PAR… / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2014

Where it is

Ward 55
Puttenahalli

ಪುಟ್ಟೇನಹಳ್ಳಿ

Bengaluru South corporation, Bommanahalli assembly seat

See source
Village
Puttenahalli

Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source
Land survey numbers

42

See source
Height above sea level
911 m
See source
Coordinates

12.8904° N, 77.5874° E

See source

Read more

Wikipedia

Puttenahalli lake is a small, restored freshwater lake located in JP Nagar 7th Phase, South Bangalore. The area of the lake is about 13 acres. The primary water sources are rain and surface water diverted to the lake through channels. The lake is currently maintained by Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) . The lake was on the brink of extinction, but due to the efforts of PNLIT, is now a haven for bird-watchers and on its way to being completely restored.

Read Puttenahalli Lake (JP Nagar) on Wikipedia

See source
OpenStreetMap
See source
Wikimedia Commons

See every photo of it

See source
Wikidata

Q17084588

See source
Its number in each record
ATREE lake map
153
2018 lake survey
BUBSUHput_kr1-1358
Lake Development Authority
LDA403
KGIS tank map
1003
Water bodies census
2/12/002/276600/1302867/002
City lake monitoring site
71