Local Water Utilities Administration

The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) with a specialized lending function mandated by law to promote and oversee the development of water supply systems in provincial cities and municipalities outside of Metropolitan Manila. LWUA was created through Presidential Decree No. 198, also known as “The Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973,” which was signed into law on May 25, 1973. The law that created LWUA in the national level also provided for the establishment of Water Districts in provincial cities and municipalities. Thus would be put into motion a development partnership called the “LWUA-Water District Concept” that would revolutionize water supply provision in the countryside. In 1987, LWUA’s mission and area of responsibility was expanded to include provision of Level II service (communal faucet system) through the Rural Waterworks and Sanitation Associations (RWSAs) in areas where Level III systems (individual household connection) were not feasible.