Tambuling Batangas Publication March 27-April 02, 2019 | Page 5

OPINYON
March 27-April 2, 2019
La Mesa Dam barometer of water
supply
DID you know how La Mesa Dam
in Novaliches, a former town now
divided between Quezon City and
Caloocan City, became part of the
Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water system
which supplies potable water to
residents of the present Metropolitan
Manila and nearby provinces?

According to the book “Ang
Kasaysayan ng Novaliches” (History
of Novaliches) published in 1997, La
Mesa Dam, located about 20 kilometers
northeast of Manila, was constructed
in 1929, or during the American
occupation of the Philippines.

The book, written by
historians Dr. Emmanuel Franco
Calairo and his mother, former
University of the Philippines-Los
Baños (UPLB) professor Rosalina
Morales Franco-Calairo, narrated that
between 1920 and 1926, the former
Metropolitan Water District (MWD)
decided to build a new dam to replace
the old Wawa Dam in the town of
Montalban (now Rodriguez) in Rizal.

Then MWD was the
predecessor of the former National
Waterworks
and
Sewerage
Administration
(NWSA),
now
the Metropolitan Waterworks and
Sewerage System or MWSS.

During
the
American
regime, the Wawa Dam was the first
source of water supply for the people
of Manila and environs, which used to
be a province itself prior to the creation
of the present Rizal province in 1901.
Owing to Manila’s fast-growing
population, this source of water supply
became obsolete and needed to be
replaced.

The former town of
Novaliches, then still under full
jurisdiction of Caloocan municipality,
was chosen by the government as the
site of the new dam because of the
sloping topography of the Novaliches
watershed from the neighboring
Bulacan province, notably the towns
of Norzagaray and San Jose del Monte,
now a city.

Meanwhile, as La Mesa
Dam turns 90 years old this year, it
becomes the oldest among the three
dams comprising the Angat-Ipo-La
Mesa water system.
Metro Manila water system and the story
of Museo El Deposito
BY SUSAN G. DE LEON
WE’RE currently experiencing
water shortage here in Metro
Manila, and that reminds me to
finish a long overdue article about
the inauguration of a museum we
covered some weeks ago, the Museo
El Deposito, a museum that stands on
the actual site of an old underground
water reservoir.

In writing this piece, I have
three reasons: one is to share with
the readers details about the newly
opened museum; second is to share
some bits of history regarding El
Deposito, a water reservoir during the
1800s; and third, to alleviate myself
from too much frustrations and
discomfort brought by the current
water shortage here.
So, let us begin.
El Deposito, an underground water
reservoir

According to the National
Historical Commission of the
Philippines (NHCP), before the
Manila waterworks system was
built, water was sold and delivered
to households by tinaja-bearing
aguadores or water carriers.

A tinaja is a large water jar
made of clay. The most expensive
water then had cost 12.50 cents per
tinaja and came from the springs of
San Juan.

Water sourced from the
Pasig River was the cheapest at
only 2.50 cents per tinaja. Aside
from having water delivered to their
houses, people also got their water
from other nearby rivers, lakes and
springs. Households then also had a
cistern for collecting rainwater.

In an article written by
historian Pio Andrade Jr. that was
posted on the blog of Mr. Arnaldo
Arnaiz, it says there….when Don
Francisco Carriedo y Peredo, who
made his fortune in the galleon trade
died in 1743, he willed 10,000 pesos
to be invested in the galleon trade till
it is enough to build a water system
for Manila.

The will specified that the
money was to be used solely for the
building of Manila’s water system.
The fund was kept in a an iron chest
labelled Fondo de Carriedo with
keys to be held by the mayor, one by
the senior deputy of the chamber of
commerce, and the third by the senior
aldermen of the city.

Carriedo’s will stipulated
further that his water system should
give free water to the poor, the poor
Clares, and the Franciscan nuns in
perpetuity, all the other would avail of
water from the Carriedo waterworks
had to pay for the construction of
their water connection.

The Carriedo Water system
was finally completed in 1882. It
pumped water from the Mariquina
River in Santolan to El Deposito, the
water reservoir lined and covered
with brick in San Juan del Monte.

From El Deposito, the
water flows by gravity through iron
pipes into 153 hydrants of Manila’s
water mains. This was the water
system the American found when
they annexed the Philippines. The
pumps had a capacity of two million
gallons a day and the reservoir held
14 million gallons.
El Deposito was an old underground
water reservoir in San Juan del
Monte, now the city of San Juan. It
was built by the Spanish authorities
in 1880 with a capacity of 15 million
gallons to provide the residents of
Manila and its surrounding areas with
an adequate water supply.

The
reservoir
was
historically known as the site where
the onset of the Philippine Revolution
through the Battle of San Juan del
Monte took place in 1896.

While the El Deposito
waterworks building may have been
the only visible structure at the time,
it was the structure underneath—
unseen from ground level—that was
the most critical.

Designed by Spanish
engineer and architect Genaro
Palacios (who later designed the
all-steel San Sebastian Church),
constructed within four years and
finished in 1882, El Deposito
served as the main water reservoir
for Spanish-era Manila and nearby
towns.

The El Deposito was a civil
engineering feat for its time. Built
using volcanic rock, the aqueduct
has an estimated area of five hectares
and a capacity of 15 million gallons
of water meant for Manila, Marikina,
and other surrounding areas.

Ventilation shafts kept
the water in El Deposito fresh and
free from contamination. Part of the
masterplanned Carriedo waterworks
system, the El Deposito was also the
water source of the fountains and
hydrants in Manila, the most famous
fountain being the Carriedo fountain.

During World War II, El
Deposito was used as a hospital,
a firing range, a bunker, and
ammunition storage by various
Japanese and American forces.
Museo El Deposito

Unlike other museums that
help us understand history through
important artifacts behind glass cases
or rope barriers, or walls upon walls
that display art, Museo El Deposito
in San Juan City stands on the actual
site of an old underground water
reservoir, which makes its location
According to the MWSS website,
construction of Ipo Dam in Barangay
San Mateo, Norzagaray, Bulacan
began in 1935.

It was partially opened
in 1936 and improved to its present
condition during the administration of
former President Ferdinand E. Marcos
in 1984.

On the other hand,
construction of the Angat Dam in
Barangay San Lorenzo (Hilltop),
Norzagaray, started in 1961 and was
completed in 1967.

The La Mesa watershed,
located in Barangay Greater Lagro,
Novaliches, is under the joint
administration, supervision and control
of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) and the
MWSS.

The La Mesa reservoir,
which has a capacity of up to 50.5
million cubic meters, attains full
capacity during the rainy and typhoon
seasons.

Once its water level reaches
the maximum of 80.15 meters, the
water spills to the nearby Tullahan
River which passes through North
Caloocan City, Valenzuela City,
Malabon City, and Navotas City before
emptying into the vast Manila Bay.
Today,
whenever
the
summer or dry season is around, La
Mesa Dam frequently lands in the
national news — whether print or
broadcast.

This is because the dam’s
water level, along with that of Angat
and Ipo dams in Bulacan, automatically
becomes the barometer of water supply
available for the people being served
by the Maynilad Water Services Inc.
and Manila Water.

When La Mesa Dam’s
water level falls to the critical mark
of below 69 meters, it is a signal for
the MWSS, Maynilad, and Manila
Water to regulate water supply to their
customers.

On the other hand, the rainy
season also places La Mesa Dam in the
national news.

This is because when the
dam’s water level reaches its maximum
level of over 80 meters, particularly
during heavy rains and strong storms or
typhoons, the excess water overflows
to the downstream Tullahan River,
threatening residents along low-lying
shores of the waterway.
This, in turn, prompts authorities
to issue periodic warnings to said
residents to be on constant alert for
possible floods in their areas.
interesting in itself.
Complementing
its
strategic location is the addition of
interactive features— electronic mini
displays, an interactive touchscreen,
and a virtual reality room—to present
bits of the country’s civil-engineering
history.

Located
beside
the
Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine, and a
few meters beside another museum,
the Museo ng Katipunan, the two-
storey museum opened its doors to
the public on February 20.

The second floor houses
the three galleries. The first gallery
covers life before the waterworks and
El Deposito, wall panels explaining
how typical Filipino aguadores
fetched water from various sources
near Manila.

Various replicas of 19th-
century water-filtration systems, such
as a water filter carved out of porous
rock owned by Jose Rizal’s family
were also exhibited.

There’s a cross section of a
wooden barrel with layers of filtering
material. In the same area, visitors
will also get to know Francisco
Carriedo, a Spanish Captain General
of Manila who spearheaded the
development of Manila’s waterworks
by donating a portion of his fortune
from the galleon trade.

On the museum floor is
an actual specimen of a Carriedo
waterworks hydrant and a full-sized
3D-printed replica.

In the center of the second
gallery is a lighted two-layer scale
model of the entire Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine area. It has a see-
through surface that helps visitors
visualize the vast yet unseen
structures underneath.

The El Deposito has around
25 underground chambers—less than
a fifth of the chambers have been
explored in modern times. Samples
of El Deposito’s building materials
such as remnants of cast iron pipes,
volcanic tuff, and limestone are also
on display.

The third gallery is where
things get interactive. Visitors can use
virtual reality headsets in the virtual
reality (VR) exhibit room, where they
can watch a 360-degree historical
recreation of key events during the
Battle of San Juan Del Monte.

The
scenes
feature
historical figures such as Andres
Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto. A
visual timeline of events in the
history of El Deposito adorns the
wall beside it. Opposite the timeline
are various World War II-era artifacts
such as helmets and ammunition
shells, which were excavated from
the El Deposito area.

There is also that corner
in the museum where you can view
the actual entrance to the El Deposito
aqueduct. A portion of the massive
chambers is currently being cleared
out, and there is a possibility for these
tunnels to be explored by visitors in
the future.
So there you go. Meanwhile, it’s been
three weeks, since water shortage in
Metro Manila begun, I wonder if El
Deposito can be of help to us. (PIA
InfoComm)
San Juan City Mayor Guia G. Gomez cuts the ribbon to signal the formal opening of Museo El Deposito. She was assisted by left-right)
Dr. Rene R. Escalante, Chair, NHCP; ASec. Eduardo Ramos, DPWH; and Dir. Ludovico D. Badoy, Acting Executive Director, NHCP.
(Photo by Gelaine Gutierrez/PIA InfoComm)