BRIEF HISTORY AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The original water system of Cotabato City was constructed in 1939 and was operated and managed by the Provincial Government of Cotabato. The Dimapatoy River was the sole water supply source and was transmitted to the population by way of a gravity feed system.

In 1954, the utility was turned over to the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA), then to the City Government of Cotabato.

In 1976, the City Government of Cotabato passed the Resolution creating the Cotabato City Water District (CCWD). The ownership and the management of the water utility was all transferred to Cotabato City Water District by virtue of Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No 035, dated March 9, 1976. This was later renamed as Metro Cotabato Water District (MCWD), pursuant to CCWD Board Resolution No. 030B-03, dated August 8, 2003, and in accordance with LWUA Board of Trustees Resolution No. 186, series of 1997.

The Metro Cotabato Water District (MCWD) derived its legal mandate to serve the populace from Presidential Decree No. 198, as amended, or otherwise known as the Provincial Water Resources Act of 1973. The District was formed on October 12, 1976. On November 5, 1976, the Local Water Utilities Administrations issued the Certificate of Conformance No. 30 to the MCWD.

The District is committed to provide adequate and affordable supply of potable water to all its concessionaires , attain corporate viability, maintain organizational efficiency, pursue technological dynamism and consciousness in environment protection in order to sustain a highly reliable system for the benefit of all people within its service area.

It serves 36 out of 37 barangays in the City of Cotabato, 10 barangays in Sultan Kudarat Municipality, and 7 barangays in Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipality, in the province of Maguindanao. It has a total of 41,686 active service connections, as of December 31, 2023.