By: Jack Campagna
DOI: 10.57912/28520405
Fog harvesting technology implemented by Dar Si-Hmad, a Moroccan non-government organization, has proved effective in addressing water insecurity in Morocco. Amidst the impacts of climate change, drought-affected rural communities have been able to have a reliable and clean source of fresh water and the energy expenditure of collecting daily water has been resolved. Because of the success of Dar Si-Hmad’s fog harvesting projects, the organization hopes to expand the nets in other drought-impacted communities in Morocco. Different communities have recognized the usefulness of this technology and implemented it in other parts of the world from the Andes Mountains to Kenya, areas which, like Morocco, face water insecurity and have large amounts of fog. Knowing this, other countries have the potential to experience the same benefits by implementing this technology. Intra- and international organizations should promote this low-cost technology on the global stage to give more communities an alternative source of freshwater, especially when the devastating effects of climate change are at their highest in history, which will only get worse.
Fog harvesting, the process of converting fog into usable freshwater, dates back hundreds of years to the Inca Empire who collected water from buckets under trees which collected condensation. As the climate crisis and overpopulation have caused over half of the world's population to face water insecurity across the world, fog harvesting offers a cheap alternative to freshwater in many drought-affected areas. Functioning best in fog-abundant areas, such as coastal and mountainous regions, the process consists of planting single or double-layered mesh nets in between two posts perpendicular to wind-carrying fog. As wind passes through, drops of freshwater form and fall into the nets, down into gutters which eventually lead to water tanks. Depending on the season, fog nets can yield on average 200 to 1,000 liters of water a day. Ideal conditions of large fog droplets, strong wind, and narrower collection fibers contribute to improved water collection. There are a number of advantages to this technology such as the lack of electrical energy needed to operate the nets, low manufacturing costs, and decreasing dependence on local reservoirs when water is scarcely available. However, high implementation, maintenance, and transportation costs for regions with no commercial producers of the nets are disadvantages. The uncertainty of fog and specific atmospheric conditions required further limits the space where fog nets can be built.
Dar Si-Hmad is focused on implementing environmentally sustainable projects for low-resourced communities in rural southwest Morocco. Experimental fog harvesting projects began in the Sidi Ifni region in June 2006, noted for its mountains and abundance of fog. Since March of 2015, when the project was officially launched, six hundred meters of nets have been constructed, as well as a new generation of fog sensors linking eight villages to the net grid. Thanks to the fog nets, more than 6,300 liters of water are collected per day in 80-100 households. Previously, women and children spent more than three hours a day collecting water from wells. Yet as a result of fog nets, women can now spend more time looking after children, children can go to school, and families can grow vegetables and take care of livestock.
Other countries have also benefited from fog harvesting as similar problems as faced in Morocco are encountered. In Peru’s Andes mountains, drought has caused many communities to rely on imported, polluted water from trucks that are only fit for agricultural purposes. However, since the implementation of fog nets, there is enough clean water for both crops and human consumption. In Kenya, worsening drought has forced many rural villages to resort to collecting water from fog nets attached to trees. Although rainwater is also collected, fog is a more reliable source. This water covers needs from cleaning, cooking, bathing, and raising livestock.
There is great potential in places like California and South Africa to apply this technology as well. California’s Central Valley could benefit from fog nets, as the area experiences more foggy days than rainy ones. Fog nets can help farmers fulfill their water needs, especially as wells dry up. They can even be used in reforestation efforts after wildfires. Likewise, fog nets on Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, can provide a secondary source of water. After a number of consecutive dry winters between 2017-2020, a water crisis has impacted citizens, especially businesses and restaurants who have had to reduce their wastewater.
Fog harvesting has proved to be a cheap and sustainable solution to water insecurity and climate change. As a result, fog nets should be further implemented in drought-impacted regions across the world because of their ability to supply a secondary source of freshwater for communities. The benefits extend beyond job creation and cheap implementation, but also time allocation to other important community needs, as well as decreasing water dependence in major cities by providing rural areas with water. It is important that fog harvesting technology be installed in vulnerable regions that will benefit the most. Though all countries with a suitable environment for fog harvesting will benefit, developing nations and regions lacking proper infrastructure should be helped first, given the clear economic benefits afforded by construction and rising climate threats. Dar Si-Hmad has proven that fog harvesting is a successful long-term project in Morocco. As a result, opportunities have opened for people to find jobs or go to school, without sacrificing time accessing clean water. While the threats of climate change continue to grow, small steps like these can make a difference in improving the lives of people across the world.
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