El Depósito

Useful Information

Location:	29 Pinaglabanan, San Juan, Metro Manila. (14.604222, 121.031764)
Open:	All year daily 8-16. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Cistern
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	V=56,000 m³.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	NHCP Museo El Deposito, 29 Pinaglabanan, San Juan, Metro Manila, Tel: +63-998-247-0042.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1878	begin of construction.
1882	Carriedo Waterworks completed.
1896	onset of the Philippine Revolution through the Battle of San Juan del Monte takes place here.
1945	recaptured by Allied Forces.
1946	cistern abandoned.
2016	assessment and excavation of the cistern by the University of the Philippines Archaeological Studies program.
2018	renovation by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
1972	declared a cultural property and historical marker installed.
30-NOV-2021	Museo El Deposito opened to the public.

Description

El Depósito (The Deposit) is a water tank or cistern from the colonial era, it was built by the Spanish, hence the Spanish name. It is also known as El Deposito Underground Water Reservoir. It was created by Genaro Palacios, a Spanish engineer and architect who used the Marikina River as water source. With a capacity of 56,000 m³ it provided fresh water for 300,000 people. It also supplied various hydrants and fountains in the city. The water was pumped to the reservoir cast iron pipes from Marikina River through the Santolan area over a distance of 5 km. The NHCP Museo El Deposito is a museum dedicated to the Carriedo Waterworks, which provided potable water to Manila during the late 19th century. It was created by National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the city government of San Juan. It has three sections, the Audio-Visual room, the Resource Center, and the Virtual Reality Room.

The place has also some importance in the history of the country. It was the place where the onset of the Philippine Revolution took place. In the Battle of San Juan del Monte, the Katipunan tried to conquer the waterworks from the Spanish colonial authorities. With this uprise the Spanish colonial rule was ended in 1898, with the intervention by the United States. But the country was not free, the Treaty of Paris was signed between Spain and the United States and Spanish rule replaced by U.S. rule. In 1899, fighting broke out between the Philippine and American forces, triggering the Philippine-American War or Tagalog Insurgency. El Depósito was held by the Filipinos during this war, which finally ended in 1902. The cistern was used as an armory during the American occupation. When Imperial Japanese forces occupied the Philippines in World War II, they also used the cistern as armory. For some time it was a hospital for tuberculosis patients and a firing range. But the military use ended with the Philippine independence from the United States in 1946.

The cistern was only a few years part of the water system of the city, in the late 19th century. It is mostly a historic site, as a military structure for half a century. The fact that it was declared a cultural property by the NHCP in 1972 only resulted in a historical marker. The land around El Depósito was converted into the Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine and Park, but the cistern was not touched. It was abandoned for 70 years in total when the University of the Philippines Archaeological Studies program excavated the site in 2016. Then the NHCP created the museum inside which was opened to the public in 2021.

Before Manila had a water supply, people purchased the drinking water from aguadores or water carriers. They used large water jars made of pottery which were called tinaja. The water had different prices depending on its origin. Water from the Pasig River was the cheapest at only 2.50 cents per tinaja, water from the springs of San Juan was the most expensive costing 12.50 cents per tinaja. People also got their water from other nearby rivers, lakes and springs, and numerous households had their own cistern for collecting rainwater. The idea to build a water system for Maila had the Spanish official Francisco Carriedo y Peredo in 1733. He made a donation of P10,000 to the Manila Ayuntamiento for the funds of the waterworks project. But it then took 150 years until the works were finally built. Nevertheless, a water fountain in Sampaloc was named after Carriedo for his contribution to the city’s water system.