The Santa Maria Water District (SMWD) has been serving the community for over 38 years, and it is the trust of its concessionaires that continues to drive its achievements and success.

SMWD began as a “Small” Water District in 1997 having only 20 career positions. On November 20, 2000, it was reclassified as a “Medium” Water District after initially applying for the “Average” category having 8 more career positions. Following this reclassification, in  2003, SMWD pursued re-categorization into the “Big” category and was eventually granted promotion to the “Large” category, which included 70 career positions.

With the issuance of the Revised Local Water District Manual on Categorization, Re-Categorization, and Other Related Matters (LWD-MaCRO), under DBM Circular Letter No. 2011-10, SMWD applied and was reclassified to Category B in March 2012. The Certificate of Category B was issued by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) on April 2, 2012. On July 3, 2014, the DBM approved the Plantilla for this new classification which included 109 more career positions in total.

In 2019, SMWD achieved a milestone by surpassing the 30,000 active service connections mark. This achievement fulfilled the DBM’s criteria for higher classification. Consequently, SMWD, under Certificate of Conditional Conformance No. 310, advanced from Category B to Category A. The LWUA formally issued the Certificate of Category A on August 8, 2019. The approval of the SMWD’s updated Plantilla, aligned with Category A, had long been out of reach for the agency. After several dedicated efforts and revisions, the approval of the SMWD’s updated Plantilla, aligned with Category A, was successfully granted by the DBM on January 17, 2025, marking a significant achievement for the agency. This approval opened the doors for more career positions. From having only 20 career positions, SMWD now has a total of 213 career positions. As of January 22, 2025, SMWD has a workforce of 191.

Several crucial factors have been taken into consideration to determine the categorization of SMWD such as workforce, fixed assets, and financial resources. These parameters were considered to assess the size, financial capacity to meet operational demand, revenue-generating capacity, and the scope and complexity of operations of Santa Maria Water District.

With its assured growth and continued need fulfillment to meet national standards, SMWD has demonstrated its promise to providing adequate, reliable, and potable water supply services to the people of Santa Maria, Bulacan and the nearby municipalities. This achievement opens the door to greater opportunities for delivering enhanced services to its concessionaires due to its expanded and capable workforce.

Written by:

Jon Mar T. Cruz