CSUMB FOG CATCHER PROJECT

The collection of water from fog offers a unique opportunity to engage with an environmental feature endemic to the Monterey area (fog). Worldwide, numerous countries capitalize upon the presence of fog to produce potable water in regions that receive little rainfall. In some cases entire communities utilize fog water to meet their basic needs (Henderson et al. and Edwards et al.). Indeed, such deployments exist in Chile, Guatemala, Israel, Yemen, Eritrea, Morocco, Spain, and many other countries throughout the world. A simple mesh mounted properly on a square frame provides a surface for the fog water to coalesce. Once the droplets reach a suitable size, their weight causes them to fall off and collect in a trough below. From a single square meter of vertically-mounted mesh up to several gallons of water have been produced in a single day under foggy conditions with sufficient wind. Actual amounts collected are very location dependent and under foggy conditions are more typically about a liter.