Fog forms the main source of water for plants and animals in many arid regions of the world. It is only relatively recently that fog water has been collected for domestic consumption. Such projects are now being researched and implemented in many countries throughout the world. In South Africa too, research has been ongoing since 1995 to determine whether fog water harvesting would be feasible, and if so, where the optimal sites for such endeavours would be located and how much water could be collected. Preliminary research indicated that fog water collection (FWC) could be viable in the mountainous regions of the country and along the West Coast where fog occurred frequently. To test these findings, two large operational FWC systems were erected – one at Tshanowa School in the Soutpansberg mountains in Limpopo Province and the other at Lepelfontein on the West Coast. Both systems consisted of a 70 m2 collecting screen composed of nets made from a locally produced material commonly called shade cloth. These nets were attached to 6 m high vertical poles and gutters suspended to their lower ends. During rainy or foggy conditions droplets intercepted by the nets coalesced and trickled down towards the gutters. From there the water was channelled to a filter and eventually to storage tanks. The results proved to be promising.

However, a number of problems were experienced when erecting similar systems in other parts of the country. These involved structural failure of the systems, fraying and tearing of the nets, problems during on-site construction of the systems and, on the West Coast, low fog water collection rates due to near-windless conditions. One of the most serious shortcomings was the lack of an accurate and affordable commercial device that could measure low and intermittent water collection rates. The aim of the current study was to optimise fog water collection. The project had three objectives, namely to understand the physical and chemical complexities of fog and its formation, to optimise the fog harvesting process and to develop novel products that could improve on existing fog water measuring devices as well as optimise the fog net design in terms of structural stability and fog water yield.

Two sites were selected for experimentation. These were on the farms Swallows Nest in the Zondachsberg Mountains near Avontuur in the Western Cape and Steenbokfontein near Lamberts Bay on the West Coast. They are located at 33.74 ̊S; 23.18 ̊E; alt. 1 040 m AMSL and 32.17 ̊S; 18.33 ̊E; alt. 74 m, respectively. These sites are on opposite sides of the country, at nearly the same latitude but with vastly different altitudes. Both sites receive fog frequently, are easily accessible and have a high degree of security.

Various FWC system designs were tested. These included a triangular system composed of three 3 m by 10 m FWC panels arranged in the shape of an equilateral triangle (referred to as the triangular system) erected at both experimental sites. It was assumed that such a design would be more robust than the conventional flat structures and that such an arrangement of nets would be able to collect water, irrespective of the direction of fog-bearing winds. These systems were erected at the Avontuur site during 2011 and the Lamberts Bay site during 2012. Since there was a possibility that the nets could shield each other and reduce the amount of water collected, three open systems consisting of two nets each, orientated at 60 ̊, 90 ̊ and 120 ̊ to each other, were erected at Avontuur. Various modifications were introduced to solve problems with on- and off-site construction. The installation of Mike Cotton System loggers allowed for remote access of data through a GPRS signal, thus enabling real-time monitoring and regular (1 hourly) archiving of data.

The results showed that the triangular structure was indeed very strong and sturdy, withstanding severe storms and gale force winds. However, water collection rates were very low. Over the 35 month study period, the triangular system at Avontuur collected more than 53 000 litres of water. Highest yields were obtained during the summer months. Net 1 facing south into the prevailing fog-bearing winds collected significantly more water than nets facing NE and NW. On average, however, the triangular system recorded only 0.56 l.m-2.day-1. The 60 ̊ open zig-zag system by contrast, was considerably more efficient with a water collection rate of 2.7 l.m-2.day-1. The triangular system at Lamberts Bay fared much worse than at Avontuur, with only 0.08 l.m-2.day-1 being recorded. Here again, the south-facing net of the triangular system was more effective than the others. It is surmised that this is due to the S-SW onshore winds arising from the circulation around the South Atlantic Anticyclone, coastal lows, sea breezes and the rain following the passing of a cold front.

Research was also conducted to test the water collection efficiency of twelve different materials. These included a number of locally and imported materials ranging from 40 and 80% shade cloth (local), materials obtained from MIT in the USA, from Denkendorf in Germany and the Rachel net that is used in many countries. The materials obtained from Denkendorf in Germany proved to be the most efficient water fog water collectors, collecting more than double the volume of water than the locally produced shade cloth. These nets had a 3-D structure and could effectively trap water droplets from fog and rain. The material used for fog water collection in most other countries, i.e. the Rachel net, fared second- best. Materials which trapped and retained water (and became wet in the process) proved to be the least suitable for fog water harvesting.

During the course of this project, a novel device was developed to measure FWC rates. This low flow meter (LFM) was based on a conventional tipping bucket, but was designed to measure low (1 l.hr-1) and intermittent flows from large collecting surfaces. Low flow meters were tested at the Avontuur and Lamberts Bay sites for more than three years and have shown to be efficient and reliable. Another novel device was designed, constructed and erected in an attempt to maximise fog water collection during near- windless conditions. This device, referred to as the Whirly, consists of a freely rotating central axis to which three fog water collection panels are attached. Small gutters are attached to the lower ends of the panels. During conditions with a RH of ≥98% and wind speeds of ≤ 4 m.s-1, a battery operated motor switches on causing the Whirly to rotate slowly. As soon as the RH drops below 95% and/or the wind speed increases, the system is automatically switched off and ceases rotating. The battery is charged by means of a solar panel. Toward the end of 2014, a scaled-up version of the Whirly was constructed and erected at the Lamberts Bay site. The Whirly was much more effective than the triangular system in that it recorded an average of 0.27 l.m-2.day-1. This is still very low and, due to its small collecting surface area (1.38 m2), the actual volume of water collected was negligible.
Analysis of the characteristics of fog and rain events at the experimental sites revealed that at Lamberts Bay on the arid West Coast, fog contributes 33% of the volume of water collected on the FWC system whereas at Avontuur, this amounts to only 20%. During the 2013 period, fog occurred one day out of every three (111 out of the 335-day study period). This is in agreement with long term annual fog day frequency of 110 days for Cape Columbine. The frequency of fog occurrence at Avontuur was relatively higher with 63% of the days recording fog. The rain day frequencies at the two sites were 108 and 86 days, respectively. Nevertheless, the actual rainfall at Avontuur was more than double that received at Lamberts Bay. At both sites, fog occurred more frequently during the months with low rainfall. As expected, fog occurred most frequently during the cooler evening and early morning hours, peaking between 06:00 and 08:00 at Lamberts Bay while at Avontuur, two peaks were recorded – the major one occurred before 09:00 and another, around 19:00 to 20:00. The latter may be due to a local heat-induced low pressure system that develops over the Little Karroo over the area during the afternoon.

Numerous factors affect the water harvesting potential of FWC systems. Geographic factors appear to be the most important of these, especially altitude, since this influences both the liquid water content (LWC) of the air and the wind speed. This factor might explain up to 98% of the variation in water collection. However, topographic factors such as aspect, steepness of slope and the presence of large topographic obstructions in the vicinity of a site may impact on water harvesting potential. The most suitable sites have high elevation and are located on seaward-facing terrain so as to be exposed to moisture-laden winds. The LWC content of the air and wind speeds are the most important climatic controls with the latter controlling the volume of moist air passing through the nets. Highest water collection occurs during rain-events.
The type of material used as fog collectors and the design of the system can thus influence the amount of water collected. Fortunately these can be controlled and water harvesting potential increased using appropriate design and materials.

The quality of the water collected at the two experimental sites was extremely good and suitable for human and animal consumption. The pH was near neutral (6.6 at Avontuur and 6.9 at Lamberts Bay) with the dominant cations being Na+ and Ca2+ at the West Coast site and Na+ at Avontuur. Chlorine formed the dominant anion at both sites. Surprisingly, the concentration of the major cations in the Lamberts Bay samples were higher than would be expected from a solely maritime origin. This applies especially to the Ca and K ions, where more than 90% originate from sources other than maritime. A relatively greater proportion of the Cl and Mg ions originate from the ocean but with some enrichment from other sources. It is interesting to note that the sea salt fraction of Ca, Mg, K and Cl aerosols in the Avontuur water samples exceed that at Lamberts Bay. At first glance, this appears to be contrary to expectation in view of the greater distance from the sea of Avontuur in comparison to that of the Lamberts Bay site. However, it must be kept in mind that the fog occurring at Avontuur originates from maritime air from the Southern Indian Ocean which is forced to ascend the escarpment by onshore breezes. As at Lamberts Bay, the Ca aerosol component in water collected at Avontuur, probably arises from dust.

A preliminary environmental impact assessment was conducted at the Avontuur site during 2012 and 2014. The results indicated that there might be an impact on soil and biota during the construction phase of a FWCS. However, these were only of a temporary nature. Comparison of the biota in the vicinity of the structures at the Avontuur site showed that the vegetation was almost fully re-established within a season or two. It is also possible that the micro-climate was disturbed immediately downwind of the structures. Preliminary observations (using only one set of instruments on the windward side of the FWCS and one placed a few meters behind the south-facing net) indicated that the net had a slight buffering effect on wind speeds. This effect increased with the speed of incident winds and decreased with the degree of wetness of the nets. There was some indication of the development of a weak low behind the net, causing a slight deflection in wind direction. Previous research conducted on the effect of vertical structures indicated that such effects decrease over distance.

In order to facilitate decision-making, it was important to investigate how fog frequencies could be influenced by climate change. Since sufficient fog water collection potential is very site-specific, a technique using a fine resolution topography field with forced topographic ascent by onshore synoptic winds determined for individual topographic points was developed to identify the most likely condition for fog formation. Appropriate criteria were applied to projected synoptic wind patterns, and projections of fog frequency changes were obtained for the Avontuur experimental site. It was found that fog frequencies at the Avontuur experimental site might decrease by approximately 10% in future, provided that the projected climate change will occur. The topographic technique developed is not only of value for climate change projections at each available topography point in South Africa, but also to identify suitable fog water collection sites along the South African escarpment under current synoptic scale wind conditions.

An overview of the research conducted in the course of this project indicates that the aim of the project and most of the objectives were achieved. An efficient structure was designed and constructed and materials with high water collection efficacy identified. Major problems encountered previously during the construction phase were solved.

Important findings of this project were that FWC is not feasible along the West Coast and that a triangular structure is not an effective design to be used for water harvesting. The most suitable design appears to be an open zig-zag system of panels orientated at 60 ̊ to each other. Other findings were that FWC system does not to have any significant impact on the environment. The quality of water collect by the system is extremely good and suitable for human consumption. Indeed, the quality so good that it could even be bottled to provide an income to local communities.

One of the most important outcomes of this project was the development of novel products such as a water flow meter that can be used to measure low and intermittent flows. Such a device is not currently commercially available and might have application in the market. Another novel product was the development of a rotating FWC system that could improve water collection during periods with low wind speeds, but the structure will have to have a collecting surface sufficiently large to collect appreciable volumes of water.

Five University of Pretoria postgraduate students were directly involved in the project. During the course of the project the research team collaborated with various institutions such as MIT, Denkendorf, FogQuest, and the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ). A total of eight papers were presented at national and international conferences. Three articles have been published in accredited journals, and a further two have been submitted and are in the review stage. Other outputs include a data base that can be accessed on www.avitrack.co.za/aws/showmodels.php. Information on the username and password can be obtained upon request from any of the team members. A summary of data spanning the period January 2013 to December 2014 is provided on the CD attached to this report.

This project again confirmed the research team’s belief that fog water harvesting is a viable method to provide potable water to isolated mountain communities and, in conjunction with rain water collection, could provide water security in a water stressed environment.

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