Exploring fog as a supplementary water source in Namibia

Namibia is an arid country where many rural and urban centres depend on ephemeral rivers for their water supply. These water sources are, however, limited and display seasonal salinisation. Fog occurs along the coast and extends for some distance inland, and it could be used as a source of drinking water. Data on groundwater salinisation and fog deposition were collected at villages of the indigenous communities and at the Gobabeb Training and Research Centre (GTRC) in the Central Namib Desert. Fog collection experiments were done with Standard Fog Collectors (SFCs) and 1-m2 fog collectors made from the Raschel mesh that is used in SFCs from 1996 onwards. The results indicate that fog occurs throughout the year and that it has low major ion concentrations (chemical composition). The period of high fog deposition coincides with that of high groundwater salinity and would suit mixing of the two waters to provide water of good drinking quality to people in these areas. In conclusion, fog is a viable source of water in the Namib and could supplement traditional sources in rural settlements and perhaps also in urban water supply schemes in this region as in other parts of the world where it is used as a source of drinking water. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.