DAVAO City Water District (DCWD), the water utility and the only piped water service provider in the city, was created in 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree 198 or the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973, making it one of the first water districts created in the Philippines.
Since then, DCWD operated as a quasi-public or semi-government entity until in 1992 when the Supreme Court declared that DCWD, like all other water districts in the country, is a Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC).
The water utility operates with visions to become the best and gender-responsive water and wastewater service provider with utmost care for the people and the environment. It aims to supply potable and affordable water 24 hours a day, provide wastewater treatment services, operate efficiently, take a proactive role in environmental concerns, and keep a competent workforce.
Among DCWD's milestones this decade are the following:
1. In 2010, DCWD completed the feasibility study on Tamugan River Surface Resource Use and Development. This year also saw the completion of the rehabilitation of 530 hectares in Mt. Talomo-Lipadas Watershed.
2. In 2011, the water utility deployed the first caretaker team, a three-man group tasked to monitor water-related concerns such as quality of pipelines and water meter installations, non-functioning water meters, and illegal connections.
3. In 2013, DCWD implemented the Lifeline Water Rate of P100 per month for marginal sector with residential type service connections consuming not more than 10 cubic meters. It also adopted new vision and mission and goals and corporate strategies.
4. In 2015, the water provider in the city reached 200,000 active service connections. This year also the Joint Venture Agreement with Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. for the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP) of DCWD was signed and immediately after the pipelaying projects for DCBWSP-Part B (Distribution Facilities) started.
5. In 2017, DCWD obtained the ISO 17025: 2005 accreditation of the water meter calibration laboratory making it the first local water district in the country to have such accreditation. This year also DCWD started its rehabilitation of additional 470 hectares through the Adopt-a-Site project, which encouraged multi-sector participation in subsidizing the rehabilitation and maintenance costs of the adopted sites.
Also in 2017, DCWD institutionalized the Freedom of Information (FOI) and awarded by the Presidential Communications Operations Office as the first water district employing electronic FOI portal.
Also in the same year, its project partner Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. staged the groundbreaking for the construction of a water treatment plant in Barangay Gumalang, a component of DCBWSP-Part A (Bulk Water Supply Facilities).
6. In 2018, DCWD reaped what it sow as it was awarded as the 2018 FOI Champion under the Local Water Districts category. It also opened its new Matina office as a one-stop shop for customer convenience, thus it obtained 98.24% overall customer satisfaction rating in the same year.
Also in 2018, DCWD was conferred by the Department of Health with the Certificate of Water Safety Plan acceptance as among the 29 water districts that have complied with DOH Administrative Order 2017-0006.
7. For the first half of 2019, DCWD obtained 95.6 percent overall customer satisfaction rating. In the same year, the water utility obtained the ISO 9001:2015 Certification for the Provision of New Water Service Connection in its Matina office and was recognized by the Government Quality Management Committee (GQMC) for obtaining the original ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) Certification for said customer service.
8. As of October 2019, the city's water provider completed 20 out of the 32 projects programmed for DCBWSP-Part B as the water utility serves around 228,000 service connections in 112 barangays or 71.48% of the city’s population thus, continues to stand as one of the country’s largest water districts.
At present, the city's sole government-owned water provider continues to supply the best water with the lowest water rates in the country. (With PR)