PERU: Peruvians harvest fog for water outside parched Lima

Record ID: 601396

  • Title: PERU: Peruvians harvest fog for water outside parched Lima
  • Date: 24th November 2009
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT RENE HUAROC SAYING "The water that the water tanker brings us leaves it far away from us and we have to carry it back. On top of that the water is probably contaminated. We can't be sure that it is clean and a lot of kids get sick to their stomachs." VARIOUS OF RESIDENTS TAKING WATER FROM CYLINDER LEFT BY TANKER VIEW OF VILLAGE THAT DOES NOT HAVE RUNNING WATER ON OUTSKIRTS OF LIMA
  • Embargoed: 9th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Peru
  • Country: Peru
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVADUF9F58KRAPVRKGM5MYCD6PTP
  • Story Text: From a distance they look like giant volleyball nets but for hundreds of residents on the outskirts of Lima, these mesh panels are providing an invaluable service. They are designed to capture moisture from the fog that rolls in from the Pacific Ocean. In parched Lima, water is in short supply and simple innovations like this can make an enormous difference.
    Lima is set in a coastal desert and gets an average of just over an inch (1.5 centimeters) of rainfall a year, leaving many of its nearly nine million residents without enough water for drinking, cooking, washing or caring for crops.
    Residents from Bellavista, a community of about 200 people in the southern hills on the outskirts of Lima, are installing as many of the heavy polythene mesh nets as possible..
    Noe Neira is a community leader in Bellavista. He says the nets are simple, but very effective.
    "The panels that we are looking at are of a polyethylene mesh. These nets are set up here, trap the fog which condenses and turns into water. Afterward the water is transported to one of many pools which are then joined together in small lower reservoirs and then we channel it through pipes. Next we water the plants, which are called Tara trees, and finally [the water goes] to the organic gardens which are for consumption by the community's families," said Neira.
    The Tara trees bear a valuable fruit that the community sells, partially to raise money to pay for the maintenance of the nets. Tannins in the fruit are used for treating leather.
    Each of Bellavista's seven nets are about 30 feet (9.1 metres) long and 13 feet (3.9 metres) tall and can trap more than 60 gallons (240 litres) of water a day during Lima's 8 to 9 month-long foggy season.
    "This pipe here is used to transport the water caught by the netting at night. This pipe goes underground and here the water is taken and then it is transported to the storage wells," added Neira.
    The system may not be the answer all the city's water problems, but it is ideal here in the hills surrounding Lima, where wells are impractical and there are no rivers and scarce rain.
    Moreover, most Bellavista residents have migrated to Lima from the countryside and do not have the money to pay for water when it is available. Also, because they are from rural areas, the residents are accustomed to growing vegetable gardens for personal consumption, a big drain on water supplies.
    "We live in a desert region where there is no water and no green trees. Thanks to the netting system we have the possibility to plant our crops and also to wash our clothes and sometimes to drink as well because we don't have water or drains and this helps us a lot," said Bellavista resident Petronilla Yengue.
    Communities that do not have a netting system must rely on water delivery trucks which can cost an average family up to US $10 dollars a week, about ten times the normal water grid price and around a quarter of an average family income.
    To add to their difficulties, Lima resident Rene Huaroc told Reuters, they have to carry the water long distances and are never sure if it is safe for drinking.
    "The water that the water tanker brings us leaves it far away from us and we have to carry it back. On top of that the water is probably contaminated. We can't be sure that it is clean and a lot of kids get sick to their stomachs," said Huaroc.
    The nets are not a solution for large scale problems, but can revive small communities like Bellavista. And with experts predicting the disappearance of Andean glaciers that provide much of the scant water in the area, every drop will be needed.
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