MCWD turns 100, to unveil Buhisan dam marker today

The Metro Cebu Water District will commemorate its 100th anniversary today with an unveiling of a 100th year marker in the Buhisan Dam in barangay Buhisan, Cebu City, one of Cebu’s watershed areas.

There will also be a ceremonial opening of the beautified Fuente Osmeña Circle. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, MCWD officials and US Consul John Domingo will open the Fuente Circle.

The circle is a waterworks project inaugurated in 1912 and considered as one of Cebu City’s historical sites.

The Buhisan Dam with its 60-hectare pond area is the only surface water source tapped by the water district.

The dam produces 5,000 to 10,000 cubic meters of water per day and provides 5 percent of the MCWD water supply.

The lush 360-hectare forest of indigenous trees that is the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve also boasts a variety of eco-tourism offerings for the nature enthusiast.

The track from the center to the pond near the dam is lined with 50-year-old mahogany, teak, and gmelina trees.

The MCWD provides 200,000 cubic meters of water every day and provides 50 percent of the water supply in Metro Cebu.

Completed in January 3, 1911, the 27-meter dam was built in response to the urgent need of the Cebuanos for a safe water supply.

Sergio Osmeña Sr., who was then elected as the Speaker of the Philippine National Assembly, obtained the support from the Insular Government for infrastructure projects for Cebu in partnership with then Cebu governor Dionisio Jakosalem.

Then governor General William Cameron Forbes, helped secure the P550,000 to fund the project and issued an executive order declaring 5,590,000 square meters of land in Labangon for the proposed watershed and reservoir.

By the end of January 1912, water was available on almost every block in Cebu.

Tomorrow’s event will also include the viewing of the miniature design of Cebu City’s waterworks that will be led by MCWD Chairman Eligio Pacaña and the MCWD Board of Directors. /Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya