When looking at a dry area, you may feel defeated, and it’s only natural to feel that way. Water scarcity is one of the main global risks that affect people’s well-being. Because of the ever-changing climate, you can’t rely on snowfall, river runoff, or even rainfall to help replenish your access to groundwater. Luckily, there are ways around this. Today, we’re going to be talking about some unusual but beneficial technologies to harvest water in drier areas.
Catching fog
If the climate that you live in is incredibly foggy very regularly, you may find that the water that you catch can be from there. The process of catching fog is relatively easy, as well. Fog can be caught by utilizing a vertical screen that catches the droplets. The water then runs down into a water collection, storage, and distribution system. These screens can be made out of aluminum, plastic, plexiglass, or alloy. Of course, the success of catching fog depends on the geography and topography of the area, which should be foggy quite frequently, such as a coastal region or a dry mountain region.
Cloud seeding
You may find that cloud seeding aiding your rain can increase water harvesting in the air. This is done by putting small particles into or in the vicinity of clouds. These then act as the starting point for things like raindrops or ice, making it more likely that it will rain or snow. When done correctly, precipitation has been shown to increase up to 20% of the annual norm. Of course, this depends on the amount of content that is in the cloud and the base temperature of the climate, but it spells a perfect opportunity.
Desalination
If you live in a coastal region and find that your climate is pretty dry, you may want to look into desalination. This process removes the salt from the surrounding seawater or brackish groundwater, in turn making the water drinkable. This is a great way to become independent of the water cycle and the current climate, creating a steady stream of drinkable water. Through growing membrane technology, seawater desalination has been growing in popularity as costs for the process are decreasing.
When living in a dry area, have no fear! Water scarcity can be a terrifying thing, but there are a number of ways that you can get around the lack of steady rainfall in the area.