Tower pulls water out of air may save drought stricken lands

[Codename Section]

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innova...950399/?no-ist




It was this dilemma—supplying drinking water in a way that's both practical and convenient—that served as the impetus for a new product called Warka Water, an inexpensive, easily-assembled structure that extracts gallons of fresh water from the air.
The invention from Arturo Vittori, an industrial designer, and his colleague Andreas Vogler doesn't involve complicated gadgetry or feats of engineering, but instead relies on basic elements like shape and material and the ways in which they work together.
At first glance, the 30-foot-tall, vase-shaped towers, named after a fig tree native to Ethiopia, have the look and feel of a showy art installation. But every detail, from carefully-placed curves to unique materials, has a functional purpose.
The rigid outer housing of each tower is comprised of lightweight and elastic juncus stalks, woven in a pattern that offers stability in the face of strong wind gusts while still allowing air to flow through. A mesh net made of nylon or polypropylene, which calls to mind a large Chinese lantern, hangs inside, collecting droplets of dew that form along the surface. As cold air condenses, the droplets roll down into a container at the bottom of the tower. The water in the container then passes through a tube that functions as a faucet, carrying the water to those waiting on the ground.
Using mesh to facilitate clean drinking water isn't an entirely new concept. A few years back, an MIT student designed a fog-harvesting device with the material. But Vittori's invention yields more water, at a lower cost, than some other concepts that came before it.
"[In Ethiopia], public infrastructures do not exist and building [something like] a well is not easy," Vittori says of the country. "To find water, you need to drill in the ground very deep, often as much as 1,600 feet. So it's technically difficult and expensive. Moreover, pumps need electricity to run as well as access to spare parts in case the pump breaks down."
So how would Warka Water's low-tech design hold up in remote sub-Saharan villages? Internal field tests have shown that one Warka Water tower can supply more than 25 gallons of water throughout the course of a day, Vittori claims. He says because the most important factor in collecting condensation is the difference in temperature between nightfall and daybreak, the towers are proving successful even in the desert, where temperatures, in that time, can differ as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The structures, made from biodegradable materials, are easy to clean and can be erected without mechanical tools in less than a week. Plus, he says, "once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the Warka."
In all, it costs about $500 to set up a tower—less than a quarter of the cost of something like the Gates toilet, which costs about $2,200 to install and more to maintain. If the tower is mass produced, the price would be even lower, Vittori says. His team hopes to install two Warka Towers in Ethiopia by next year and is currently searching for investors who may be interested in scaling the water harvesting technology across the region.
"It's not just illnesses that we're trying to address. Many Ethiopian children from rural villages spend several hours every day to fetch water, time they could invest for more productive activities and education," he says. "If we can give people something that lets them bemore independent, they can free themselves from this cycle."


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Cool, huh?

[Bob]

Yeah, very cool. Thanks for telling us that.

[sachem]

That would be great. Quite cool.

[Bob]

That would be great. Quite cool.

25 gallons per day is quite good. Cost must be lower. $500 to those in Africa is like tens of thousands of dollars to us.

[sachem]

25 gallons per day is quite good. Cost must be lower. $500 to those in Africa is like tens of thousands of dollars to us.

Yeah, but it is a start.

[Codename Section]

I'd be willing to donate 10.

[nic34]

Great idea. Imagine, kids with time for productive activities and education.

[waltky]

Will Calif. go back into drought?...

Dry Winter Sparks Fears of Another Drought in California
February 01, 2018 - The snowpack that's essential for California's water supply is at critically low levels again this year, raising fears of the return of a drought.

On Thursday, researchers from the state's Department of Water Resources headed into the Sierra Nevada to measure water content and snow levels at the Phillips Station near Lake Tahoe. They found the snowpack stood at less than a third of its normal size for the date. A weekly report released by the U.S. Drought Monitor also shows 44 percent of the state is now considered to be in a moderate drought. That's a dramatic jump from just last week, when the figure was 13 percent. Spring and summer snowmelt of the Sierra snowpack is a crucial element to California's water supply, recharging reservoirs during the state's dry summer and early fall.

Bret McTigue, left, and his daughter Taylor, 8, head to the slopes at Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort in Echo Summit, California, Jan. 3, 2018. Researchers on Thursday found that the snowpack in the area stood at less than a third of its normal size for the date.

While the current Sierra snowpack is worrisome, officials say, it's not yet time to sound the alarm for another California drought, thanks in part to California having its wettest water year in 122 years in 2017. California lifted a drought state of emergency less than a year ago, ending a record five-year drought. But the drought never really seemed to end in some Southern California areas, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles. Los Angeles has received only one significant rain in nearly 12 months.

A little farther north, in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, the lack of rain and the dry vegetation were perfect fuel for a December wildfire that grew to be the largest recorded in state history. When it finally did rain, the scorched earth turned into deadly mudslides. Roughly half of the state's precipitation falls from December through February. So far, there's been little precipitation in parts of the state, and the forecast is showing little relief and calling for higher temperatures. The situation looks just as worrisome across much of the West. At the beginning of the year, the snowpack was unusually low across swaths of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.

https://www.voanews.com/a/dry-winter...a/4235842.html