Buhisan Dam centennial marker unveiled

A commemorative marker now stands in the Buhisan Dam to honor the people who contributed in the construction of the 100-year-old dam, which is an important source of potable water to Metro Cebu.

Made of granite and tempered glass installed on a marble base, the Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Buhisan Dam Commemorative Marker was designed by architect Carlos Pio Zafra, a faculty member of the University of San Carlos College Architecture and Fine Arts.

The marker’s monoliths which are made of white crystalline granite represent the important personalities that made the Buhisan Dam project possible. The proponent of the project was Philippine National Assembly speaker Don Sergio Osmeña, Jr., American Governor General William Cameron Forbes who secured funds for the project and Engineer Eusebius Julius Halsema and his assistant, Marcelo Veloso Regner.

Three important values which made the Buhisan Dam possible were also represented by the three monoliths.

“The passionate mind and heart to serve the people, the needed support by people in authority, and the talent and technical skills poured in by the people to implement such endeavor,” said Engr. Armando Paredes, Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) general manager.

Through the masonry monoliths, the effect in the manifestation of ideas and persons they stand for are transmitted into free standing slabs of glass.

“The five glass slabs of the marker intends to give the image of water, frozen in standstill which conveys timelessness, in the same way that we wanted the Buhisan Dam to stay here forever,” Engr. Paredes added.

People, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the Buhisan Dam, are represented by the marble circular base of the marker.

The P400,000 marker was funded by the Cebu City government through the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (Chac).

“Let this marker be a reminder to what we have been doing. Let this monument bring us together,” said Cebu City Mayor Micheal Rama who was present during the unveiling of the marker yesterday.

Rama asked the MCWD to desilt of the dam in order to improve its storage capacity.

The dam originally has the capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day but because of the siltation, its capacity has reduced to 6,000 cubic meters per day.

The Buhisan Dam supplies about 5 percent of MCWD’s current water capacity.

MCWD Asistant General Manager for Operation Engr. Ernie Delco, said that the desiltation will be one of their priority plan for the year.

The 27-meters-high Buhisan Dam completed on February 11,1912 was built to address the devastating fires that hit the City on 1906, and the need for a safe water supply of the people when Cebu suffered the worst cholera outbreak in its history, claiming 559 Cebuanos lives out of a population of 55,000.