A Tour Around San Juan City's El Deposito, Metro Manila's First Water Reservoir

The history of the Philippines has been shaped—in a significant part—by water. Here's what we've learnt from our visit to the historic water reservoir, the El Deposito in San Juan

There is a beautiful park in San Juan City that I often like to frequent. Surrounded by fire trees, the Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine is a cornerstone of the local community. It is an aide-memoire of sorts, a reminder to the proud people of San Juan that it was in their very city where Filipinos first took a stand. Commemorating the "first major battle" of the Philippine Revolution against the Spaniards, the Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine is a tribute to the brave Katipuneros who fought in 1896. Now immortalised through a sculpture made by Eduardo Castrillo, the battle remains in history as one of the most important, having also kindled the revolutionary spirit of the oppressed Filipino nation.

Mere metres away from this incredible monument is a lesser-known though equally important site: the El Deposito.

Previously eclipsed by history, the El Deposito was often overlooked until the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) began its cleanup in the late 2010s. Now, it is open to the public as a historical site and museum.

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To understand the significance of El Deposito, one must first understand the importance of water. A basic necessity and an incredible resource, water continues to be the lifeblood of our archipelago. The first settlements in the Philippines were established around bodies of water: lakes, springs, rivers, and seas, much like most civilisations around the world. In Manila, the venerable Pasig River became the community's major artery, from which trade and commerce first became possible.

But with the advent of colonisation came the establishment of the pueblo, a township that allowed Spaniards more control over the Filipinos. With this came the problem of where to get water. Some families collected rainwater, and then boiled and filtered it down for purification. At the El Deposito museum, a replica of the Rizal family's water purification system (essentially two pots that allowed the family to boil and filter) is proudly on display. Cross-sections of filtration barrels—filled with charcoal and ash—can also be seen: a testimony to the struggle of the Filipino family for access to clean, potable water.

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Around this time—when the Spaniards had settled in the country—the population had also boomed. The Pasig River became more and more polluted. Cholera epidemics were common (and a particularly disastrous one in 1882 killed one out of every ten people in Manila). The Spanish government knew that it had to do something, and so they began construction for the El Deposito, an underground reservoir that would store water carried over by the Carriedo waterworks system from the Marikina River over to San Juan and other locales. Designed by the same engineer who later conceived the San Sebastian Church, the El Deposito was the brainchild of Genaro Palacios. His design allowed the reservoir to hold up to 15 million gallons of water, enough for the population at the time.

Stepping into the restored El Deposito today is like taking a step back into time. Although it looks foreboding (with its dimly lit hallway that stretches out deeply through the underground), it's also incredible up close. Before heading down to the reservoir itself, the museum curator reminded me to peer closely at the walls; here, one can see markings carved out to spell names and numbers that date back to the 1800s. "It's a little creepy," I joked to the kindly security guard who accompanied me down the reservoir. "Oo, may kakaiba minsan [Yes, there's a different feeling sometimes]," he replied vaguely.

As with any historic site, tales abound around El Deposito. Though it was meant as a water reservoir, it has also been repurposed multiple times by the American and Japanese colonisers. At some point, it was an armoury, a hospital for tuberculosis patients, and even a firing range. Our guide also mentioned a story that claimed that Japanese soldiers—on the verge of capture by Americans—committed suicide in El Deposito to escape capture.

But though history can be a little nebulous at times, one thing remains incredibly clear: El Deposito was a valuable asset during those turbulent years of the war.

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Decades after El Deposito sunk into obsoletion, the NHCP finally began its restoration. It started with a thorough cleanup, from which turned up artefacts from different time periods. Bullets—assumedly from when it served as an armoury—were found alongside 1950s Coca-Cola bottles and Old Spice containers. There is a whole wall dedicated to these little treasures at the El Deposito museum, alongside a couple of marbles and other tokens from the past (including election memorabilia from when Sergio Osmeña and Ferdinand E Marcos ran for president).

Today, though the El Deposito no longer serves as a water reservoir, it acts as a helpful bridge for historians to link past and present. Ironically enough, it also reminds the small city of San Juan of its mammoth contributions to our history.

Museo El Deposito, Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine, Pinaglabanan Street, Corazon de Jesus, San Juan City

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Tatler Asia

A Visit to El Deposito: Exploring the Historic Water Reservoir in San Juan City