A once-distant dream is now a daily reality for over one million Dabawenyos. Since its commercial operations in 2024, the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP), a joint venture between Davao City Water District (DCWD) and Apo Agua Infrastructura, a subsidiary of Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) has successfully begun delivering 24/7 surface water to homes, schools, and businesses across the city.
Drawing from the sustainable surface water of the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed, this pioneering project addresses Davao’s long-standing reliance on groundwater, ushering in a new era of safe, sustainable, and climate-resilient water infrastructure.
“This is more than infrastructure. It’s about giving people back their time, their dignity, and their future,” said Ronnie D. Lim, General Manager of Apo Agua Infrastructura. “Water is a basic human right. With DCBWSP, we’ve built something designed to serve generations while honoring our responsibility to the environment.”
For DCWD customers who used to experience intermittent water supply, uninterrupted water access is a transformative change.
“Naay manganhi diri sa amoa nga makaingon lahi na gyud daw among tubig diri sa Indangan– dili na hadlok inumon, kay sauna naa gyud amoy. Karon, kumpyansa na among customers. Sauna mangutana pa, ‘Mineral water ni?’ Karon, happy na sila. Muingon pud mi nga sosyal na among tubig pwede na mainom (People who come here say our water in Indangan is really different now– no more odor, so they’re not afraid to drink it. Our customers are more confident. Before, they’d ask, ‘Is this mineral water?’ Now, they’re happy. We even say our water is sophisticated now it’s safe to drink), ” shared Evelyn del Campo, a carinderia owner from Barangay Indangan.
From households to small businesses, the impact is immediate: more productive hours, better sanitation, and renewed confidence in essential public services.
The project marks a major shift in Davao’s water strategy. For more than five decades, the city depended on deep wells to meet growing demand. Recognizing the risks of over-extraction such as land subsidence and saltwater intrusion, the city charted a proactive course: tap renewable surface water, protect natural watersheds, and future-proof its water system.
By sourcing from the Tamugan River and integrating climate resilience into its design, DCBWSP is setting a national benchmark for sustainable urban development.
Beyond infrastructure, DCBWSP embeds an environmental commitment. The Panigan-Tamugan Watershed, critical to the city’s water supply, has been co-managed by DCWD since 2005 through reforestation and protection programs. A landmark watershed protection ordinance was recently passed, reinforcing long-term stewardship of the area’s forests, biodiversity, and freshwater ecosystems.
The success of DCBWSP is rooted in inclusive partnerships from local governments and Indigenous communities to host and impact barangays. With Davao City’s rapid growth as a major economic hub, this model ensures that water access is not a bottleneck to development but an enabler of opportunity.
“This is a project built with and for Dabawenyos,” Lim added. “Its strength comes from the people and institutions that believed in a sustainable future.”
As climate pressures grow and urban demands rise, DCBWSP offers a hopeful blueprint for other cities facing similar challenges. But its success does not end at the tap, it begins in the source.
We call on every Dabawenyo to help protect the source that sustains us all. Ampingan nato ang Panigan-Tamugan. Let us care for the watershed as it now cares for us– so that future generations will continue to drink from its strength.