The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) is a statutory, quasi-judicial body established by the Central Government in June 2018. It was constituted under the Cauvery Water Management Scheme, 2018, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 6A of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. The CWMA's origin lies in the Supreme Court's 2018 judgment which modified the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) Award of 2007 and directed the Union Government to frame a scheme for its implementation. The Authority was created to solve the long-standing inter-state river water dispute over the Cauvery River among the basin states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The CWMA's primary mechanism is to secure compliance and implementation of the modified Tribunal award, which includes the storage, apportionment, regulation, and control of Cauvery waters. It supervises the operation of major reservoirs and ensures the regulated release of water by Karnataka at the inter-state contact point, Billigundulu gauge and discharge station. The Authority is connected to the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), which was constituted along with it in 2018 and functions as its technical and implementing arm, monitoring reservoir levels and submitting recommendations for monthly water releases. The CWMA operates under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti and is composed of a Chairman, a Secretary, and eight members, including representatives from the four basin states. The CWMA replaced the earlier ad-hoc Cauvery River Authority to provide a permanent, independent mechanism for water management.