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(Fog water collectors on El
Tofo mountain, Chile. Image Credit: IDRC / CDRI;
Photographer Sitoo Mukerji)
A major hindrance to the development of many regions is the
lack of available fresh drinking water. Climate is a huge factor in this
crisis, as some regions often go long periods without rain. In addition, some
towns and villages are great distances from the nearest clean water source, requiring
inhabitants (typically girls and women) to spend an excessive portion of their
day just retrieving water, often through harsh terrain or even war zones.
As an alternative to complete dependence on inconsistent
rainwater or imports, Otto Klemm has been developing and implementing
technology to collect water from fog for over 20 years. The technique is
borrowed from nature: vegetation in arid regions collects condensed water
particles on needles and leaves as fog moves through. Klemm's fog collectors
use plastic nets four meters high and ten meters wide, accumulating water on
the mesh. Water is collected at the lower edge of the net and guided through a
drainage system.
"At the right spot we can collect 5 liters of water per
square meter. That means 200 liters per day per fog collector," says Klemm.
The system's practicality is dependent on being placed in an
ideal location that forms enough fog. In arid regions, locations with a small
amount of vegetation are evidence of fog forming on an average of 200 days a
year. It is also dependent on educating the people to be able to maintain these
systems in order to make them sustainable. However, since their first
installation in Chungungo in 1987, Klumm has proven that these collectors can
change lives if implemented correctly.
(A fog-catching net in the
foothills of the Chilean Andes. Image Credit: Anna Westbeld)
Source: Allianz
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