Camarines Norte Water District (CNWD) pioneered the concept of a privately run water utility in the Bicol Region when it became the first water district to be established in Region V as mandated by Presidential Decree 198 otherwise known as the Water Utilities Act of 1973. Water districts, however, were categorized as government owned and controlled corporations with the entry of the final judgment of the Supreme Court Ruling on March 12, 1992 declaring water districts as government entities.