Construction of Davao City bulk water supply project starts

The construction of a sustainable, safe, and dependable source of bulk water supply in Davao City is now underway.

President Rodrigo Duterte and the project’s key stakeholders witnessed the project’s groundbreaking in Barangay Gumalang, Baguio District in Davao City on Monday.

The Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project is a strategic infrastructure initiative that will shift the dependence of Davao City’s main water supply from groundwater wells to the more sustainably sourced surface water from the Tamugan River.

Tapping the Tamugan River will enable the project to access both the right quality and ample quantity of water to allow the city’s water district to temporarily close many of its groundwater well sources.

The temporary shut down of the groundwater well resources will, in turn, ensure the preservation of the city’s water table and save it from irreversible environmental degradation such as land subsidence and saltwater intrusion—both typical results of groundwater over-extraction.

According to Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc., the construction of the P12-billion water project will take three years to finish.

Apo Agua said it is targeting to start operations by the first half of 2021.

The project is set to be the largest bulk water supply facility in the country as it will provide over 300 million liters of safe water to the Davao City Water District (DCWD) per day.

The treated water will be distributed to over one million Davaoeños through the city’s five existing water systems, namely, Dumoy, Calinan, Tugbok, Panacan, and Cabantian as well as in three additional new water systems in Talandang, Mandug, and Indangan.

Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc., a joint venture between Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc (AEV) and J.V. Angeles Construction Corp. (JVACC), signed the bulk water supply agreement with the DCWD in 2015. /ee