Cloud Catcher
A water collection solution for the modern era
Let us go straight to the source, harvesting the water from the clouds themselves.
issue
Meghalaya is a state in India where the Indian and Eurasian continental plates collide creating a huge plateau. The drastic change in elevation provides a perfect location for orographic precipitation to take place. Subsequently, the region of Meghalaya has long held the title of “Wettest Place on Earth” with an average yearly humidity of 84 percent, and average rainfalls of up to 1200cm annually. However, the geography of the region is also its curse. The region is comprised of 70 percent uninhabitable dense forest, while the tops of the plateaus are flat and barren with shallow soils that do not provide good water absorption. With no adequate means by which to collect this water, it simply becomes runoff.
EVOLO Competition Entry | Cloud Catcher | Orographic Precipitation Diagram
Technology
Researchers at MIT’s School of Engineering are developing a “Fog Harvesting Mesh” that holds great promise as an easily deploy-able and salable alternative to other energy-intensive desalination technologies. These mesh systems are passive, inexpensive to fabricate, can be deployed in a number of environments throughout the world and have almost no operation costs. Recent tests have shown increases in efficiency by upwards of 500 percent when compared to other Mesh harvesting technologies.
EVOLO Competition Entry | Cloud Catcher | MIT water collection Mesh
COncept
CLOUD CATCHER proposes a passive way with which to easily and effectively capture and store water. The construction of these megastructures would be accomplished by the assembly of many modular parts offering flexibility of design, ease of maintenance, and efficiency of economy. The fog harvesting mesh would be stretched across the structure provide a massive surface are for incoming clouds to pass through. Based on the results of testing done in South Africa, Cape Verde, Yemen and The Dominican Republic, one square meter of fog harvesting mesh could yield upwards of 100 liters of water per day if implemented in Meghalaya.
