advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

Could fog farm technology be the answer to future SA water crises?

Cape Town is currently experiencing the worst drought it has seen in a century and while government is desperately looking for immediate solutions, in the near future fog farms could be the answer.

Entrepreneur Grant Vanderwagen got the idea to use fog farming, a simple yet effective way to capture water for human consumption, while watching a news channel a couple of years ago.

“After diving into some pretty amazing research of how to capture water from fog. I noticed that there are proven methods of how we can capture water from a new source such as fog. That being said, the projects I have seen so far are below average, yes they still catch water, but I honestly believe we could be capturing a great deal amount more with new materials, technology and recycling,” Vanderwagen explains.

He’s currently seeking funding to produce what he’s called H2O Catchers to be set up at the first fog farm in the Western Cape.

Vanderwagen and his H2O Catchers team are looking to set-up around 100 H2O Catchers on the first farm in order for them to get the best results in the near future.

“Based on research that has been done into fog catchers, they’re proven to be able to capture anywhere from 100 litres a day all the way through to 10 000 litres per day, all depending on the sizes and amounts of fog. This is a method of sourcing water and we need this water now. All we need to do is innovate a little and we will witness compelling results,” he says.

Vanderwagen is looking at building H2O Catchers in three different dimensions based on locations. He and his team will also be testing different mesh materials used to capture water from fog.  

“These things can only take place once we find the people that can help us achieve this goal,” he says. “When this project is a success in the Western Cape we will proceed into other areas of South Africa and into Africa…I firmly believe that if this fog farm is in the right area we could supply enough water for small towns and possibly even bottling the water.”

Funders who may be interested in H2O Catchers can find out more about the project, here.

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

advertisement