An Innovative Fog Catcher System Applied in the Andean Communities of Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract. Fog catchers have been successfully applied in several countries around the world. In Ecuador, the Galte communities in the Andean region suffer from water deficits because they are located at an altitude higher than 3500 m above sea level. Rainfall in the area is relatively low, about 600 mm per year, with high evapotranspiration of approximately 615.74 mm per year. This study aimed to install fog catchers in Galte in 2014 and 2015 to help meet the communities’ water needs. The fog catcher system was designed to satisfy the irrigation water demand for local agricultural production, mainly maize, based on estimates using the Blaney-Criddle method. Every day throughout the year, each fog catcher collected 5 to 20 L of water per m2 of catcher area. The results indicate that the fog catcher system can meet about 5% of the local water demand for agricultural production. Keywords: Ecuador, Evaporation, Evapotranspiration, Precipitation, Water deficit.