Service is our business.

In 1965, the water system in Digos City was created by the, then, Municipal Government of Digos through the initiative of the late Mayor Nonito D. Llanos Sr. pursuant to the national government’s water development effort. The municipal government under the control of the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) managed the said water system.

Confronted with various problems particularly on financial aspect for the maintenance and improvement of the system, the late Mayor Nonito E. Llanos Jr. proposed to turn-over the administration of the water system from the municipal government to a locally formed and managed water district.

The formation of local water districts was made possible by Presidential Decree No. 198 or the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973 as amended, which declared as national policy objective the “…creation, operation, maintenance and expansion of reliable and economically viable and sound water supply and wastewater disposal systems for population centers of the Philippines.” PD 198 also recognized that the best way of achieving this objective was the “…formulation and operation of independent, locally controlled public water districts”.

Under the aegis of PD 198, the Sangguniang Bayan of Digos created the Digos Water District (DWD) on July 10, 1980, by virtue of SB Resolution No. 76, in response to a popular clamor for a reliable, sufficient and potable water service system for the industries and residents of Digos. With its formation, the DWD took over the ownership and management of the water supply system from NAWASA in accordance with PD 198 as amended.

Upon takeover, the pioneer Board of Directors were composed of Mr. Rolando A. Fabiaña, Dr. Manuel K. Gonzales, Mrs. Luisa E. Tinio, Mr. Pedro N. Yncierto and Mr. Jesus S. Sunga. The first organizational meeting was conducted on August 25, 1980 at Holy Cross College (now Cor Jesu College) Conference Room with its first Board Resolution appointing Arch. Isauros B. Gravador as General Manager effective September 1, 1980.

The infant water district started operations rather inconspicuously. On November 2, 1980, it took over the operations of the, then, 15 years old municipal waterworks system which was made up of two kilometers of antiquated pipelines of various sizes, a 14-lps well, a 260 cu.m. reinforced concrete reservoir situated in the public market, some tools and a few employees. It was awarded its Conditional Certificate of Conformance on January 12, 1981, after complying with the minimum requirement of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

DWD manages and operates the water system in its franchise area. Under its charter, it may obtain financial and technical assistance from LWUA which are necessary to carry out its various functions and responsibilities. Like any local water district (LWDs), DWD is a government owned and controlled corporation by virtue of a Supreme Court ruling handed down in September 30, 1991 declaring that LWDs are government-owned-and-controlled corporation and, as such, fall under the regulatory supervision of the Department of Budget and Management, Civil Service Commission and Commission on Audit with respect to personnel, financial and auditing matters.

In September 1997, local water districts were classified into six (6) categories namely: SMALL, AVERAGE, MEDIUM, LARGE and VERY LARGE based on the Local Water District Manual on Categorization/Re-Categorization. The said Manual provided a general framework for determining the Organizational Structure, Staffing Pattern and Classification for every category of water district. Under the said manual, Digos Water District was categorized as a small water district. DWD operated under this categorization until June 2003 when, recognizing the advances it made through the years, it was re-categorized by LWUA as a Big Water District.

In 2011, the Manual was revised to streamline and rationalize the categorization process upon the issuance of DBM Circular Letter No. 2011.10. Among others, the revision includes the reduction in the number of categories from six to four in order to clearly distinguish each category from the other.

Under the Local Water District Manual on Categorization, Re-categorization and Other Related Matters (MaCRO), Digos Water District was again re-categorized as Category “B” effective March 2012.