Fog water collection in a rural park in the Canary Islands (Spain)

Abstract

Since 1996, research has been carried out on the collection of water from fog in the Teno Rural Park (Island of Tenerife). The aim of the study is the evaluation of the possibility of obtaining water for different uses of the local population (domestic, agricultural, cattle raising and forestry), by means of fog collectors (FCs). In the park, there are two ecosystems: a forest of great biological diversity, with unique global endemism of Canarian laurel forest (a relict from Tertiary times), and a small rural population dedicated to cattle raising. The park has severe problems of erosion and high risk for fires, as well as a shortage of water. The instruments used during this study were fog collectors of different sizes, meteorological instruments and visual measurements of the fog. Five sectors of the park were investigated in terms of the fog water yield. The results indicate that at the highest altitudes, it is feasible to obtain an average water production of 4 l m −2 day −1 in winter and spring, and in the lower altitudes, which are nearer to the coastline, it is possible to collect more than 5 l m −2 day −1 in summer and autumn; fog water collection has already begun in these places. The maximum amount of water collected in a day was 51.0 l m −2, and in an hour was 3.6 l m −2.