Chile community harvests up to 650,000 litres of water yearly from coastal fog

A drought-hit community in northern Chile has found an unusual source of water in something that usually passes unnoticed. On the hills above Peña Blanca, in the Coquimbo region, giant mesh nets are positioned to intercept coastal fog, locally known as camanchaca, as it moves inland from the Pacific. Tiny droplets suspended in the fog collect on the mesh, combine into larger drops and flow into gutters before being channelled into storage. The community has been developing the approach since around 2005, using the harvested water for agriculture, livestock and ecological restoration. Today, 34 fog catchers covering 306 square metres can collect up to 650,000 litres of water a year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, offering an unconventional response to severe water scarcity and helping support efforts to restore degraded land.How the fog catchers turn mist into water in Chile's drought-hit regionThe technology is surprisingly simple. Large mesh panels are placed across the path of the prevailing fog and wind. When fog passes through the mesh, microscopic water droplets collide with its fibres and accumulate on the surface. As the droplets become larger, gravit...