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ID: 26965Added: 2003-03-19 14:00Modified: 2004-06-15 14:41Refreshed: 2010-02-08 11:11 
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Document(s) 1 of 15
Introduction The frugal use of expensive water trucked in from distant wells was a way of life in the parched desert village of Chungungo, Chile — located in one of the driest parts of the world. In addition to being costly, the water was often contaminated, contributing to poor sanitation, ill health, and low food production. Today, a simple technology collects water from fog, supplying villagers with two or three times more water than they once used and at a lower cost. What makes this possible is the persistent, extensive cloud cover (camanchacas) along the coast of Chile, which creates continual fog as the prevailing winds move inland across the mountains. With IDRC funding, Chilean and Canadian scientists fashioned an inexpensive, sustainable water supply system by stretching polypropylene mesh between two posts -- like an oversized volleyball net. Precious water droplets form on the mesh as the fog passes through it. The droplets then run down into gutters that feed a reservoir and network of pipes in Chungungo. Eighty collectors now supply Chungungo, providing an average of 10 000 litres of water per day. Meanwhile, a new prototype collector that is easy to build and maintain has been developed and tested. Twenty collectors based on the new design were installed on a new site in 1992. The success in Chungungo has spurred interest in the technology elsewhere. Fogcatchers have been installed in Islay province and in the Manchay hills on the coast of Peru, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture's Instituto Nacional de Investigacion agraria y Agro-Industrial and Asociacion TECNIDES respectively. In Ecuador, systems are operating at Pululahua and Pachamama Grande. Sites in Namibia and South Africa are also being tested for their suitability. Increased water availability - Water once trucked into Chungungo has been entirely replaced by fog water. Since the fog catchers began operating in 1992, water availability has exceeded local expectations. Residents had originally hoped the technology would enable them to increase their consumption from about 15 litres per person per day to 27 litres. Now each person uses about 33 litres a day on average, and there is enough water to grow vegetables for local use and sale. This has increased the health and income levels of the residents. (By comparison, Canadians use an average of 340 litres of water a day.) Safer, reliable water supply - The fog catchers provide a safer, more reliable water supply. In the past, water trucks sometimes broke down or were delayed if the road to Chungungo was impassable. The same trucks were also used to carry other liquids, which could leave residues in the tanks and contaminate the water being delivered to the village. Good quality water - Today the water quality in Chungungo meets all Chilean and World Health Organization guidelines. Residents say the water looks and tastes considerably better. Community-run operation - The Chungungo water system is now wholly administered by the community. The rates charged to consumers ensure that operating and maintaining the system is financially self-supporting. Responsibility for the system has been assumed by the Chilean Ministry of Public Works, ensuring institutional support and capital investment for future expansion and improvements. Social benefits - The village, once impoverished, has benefited in other ways as well. Electricity was installed in 1993 and homes have been built around a new tourist area called "Villa Canada". Chungungo now attracts vacationers — an important indication of the improved quality of life in the village. Training expanding - Two 10-day courses held at Chungungo provided hands-on training in the siting, construction, operation, and economics of fog capture technology to participants from Peru, Ecuador, Namibia, and Chile. In 1994, IDRC also sponsored an international workshop in La Serena, Chile, to promote the technology. It was attended by participants from 10 interested countries. Benefits spreading - The success in Chungungo has led other organizations (including the European Union) to fund other fog catcher projects, thereby spreading the benefits of this technology. IDRC will co-sponsor the First International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection in Vancouver in July 1998. This technology is best suited to areas where fog is consistently available and can be intercepted on land. Fog should occur during the season when water is most needed. Five other conditions are also important: 1) a mountain range with an average altitude of 500 metres or higher; 2) the principal axis of the range should be perpendicular to the prevailing wind (this increases the amount of water collected); 3) the site for water collection should be as close as possible to the user community; 4) a broad basin on the other side of the mountains where high daytime temperatures help to draw the ocean air through the mountains is desirable; 5) prevailing winds of constant direction throughout the year. Communities around the world (generally in coastal areas or on islands, but sometimes inland) with little rainfall and similar atmospheric conditions to the prerequisites above. In addition to Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, areas with the most potential to benefit include the Atlantic coast of southern Africa (Angola, Namibia), South Africa, Cape Verde, China, Eastern Yeman, Oman, Mexico, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. Professor Pilar CerecedaInstituto de Geografía Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Casilla 306, Correo 22 Santiago, CHILE Tel: 56-2-552 2375, ext. 4721 Fax: 56-2-552-6028 E-mail: dcereced@ws13.crisol.puc.cl Dr. Waldo Canto, Director Contact for project in Pachamama Grande, Ecuador: Johannes Heuschel Dr. Robert Schemenauer Prospection, Evaluation and Construction of Fog-Water Collection Systems. Available (in English), as is a manual (in English or Spanish). A video also accompanies the manual. Two other videos are also available (one promotional, the other technical). Contact: Oscar Fuentes, Faculdad de Agronomia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 306, Correo 22, Santiago, Chile. Tel: 56-2-668-4170; Fax: 56-2-552-6005. "Reading Clouds in Chile." IDRC Reports, January 1995 Return to Nayudamma Index Page Document(s) 1 of 15
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