Case study of
#00058 Coastal fog harvesting with mesh collectors where advection fog is reliable
Chungungo / El Tofo, Coquimbo Region, Chile
#00051
FailedNeighborhood
Implementer
Catholic University of Chile and international fog-collection researchers (precursor to FogQuest)
Timeline
Jan 1, 1992 – Dec 31, 2002
Location
Chungungo / El Tofo, Coquimbo Region, Chile-29.4469, -71.2996
Description
Large-mesh fog collectors installed on El Tofo mountain piped water to the coastal village of Chungungo, averaging ~15,000 L/day at peak. The system ran from 1992 to ~2002 before total abandonment: no local maintenance or ownership structure was established, and residents lobbied for a state pipeline instead. The hardware performed as designed; the social and institutional model failed.
Metrics
2Average water output at peak~15,000L/day
Years before abandonment~10years
Funding
International research/aid funding (incl. Canada's IDRC) via academic and NGO partners
Lessons learned
- Technical success does not equal durable success: the nets worked and the town benefited, yet the project collapsed within ~10 years — any replication must build maintenance capacity before, not after, handover.
- Without a formal local ownership-and-maintenance structure, infrastructure decays once external attention moves on; define governance roles and cost-recovery before deployment.
- Perceived status matters: residents came to view fog water as low-status compared to piped municipal supply, which killed willingness to maintain the system — replicators should address community perception and tenure early.
Documented Jun 7, 2026