Emergency Water Sources In An Urban Environment - The Dew Collector

Finding a source of water in an emergency is normally the hard part. Purifying and filtering that water source to make it safe to drink is normally the easy part. The important part is to make sure you have an additional source or means of making water available for use in an emergency. You will also need a container that is suitable for holding the water.

Many people are familiar with rain water harvesting as a source of additional supplies of water that can be utilized in an emergency. Unfortunately, rainfall is not always frequent enough and may be in short supply if your emergency occurs at the wrong time. There is another source of water that can be collected even when it’s not raining.

Many times humidity levels outdoors are high enough that there is extensive morning dew on the surface of almost everything outside. And while it may not be in the quantity obtained from a rain water catchment system, it can still be a viable source of emergency water.

The trick is capture as much of that dew as possible and then utilizing that moisture for your benefit as an emergency source of water. You could simply soak up the dew with a rag, a sponge or a bandanna and wring out the water into your container but this is a time consuming process that can be done easier. All you need to make the process easier is a dew collector.

Many times people harvesting rain water use what is normally referred to as a rain saucer. This is basically what the name indicates and is often utilized as a “stand-alone” system which utilizes a large funnel shape to catch rain water. It’s simply a big saucer shape placed over a suitable container to funnel rainwater into a collection device. Its main function is to catch rainwater in an open area by increasing the collection area that is exposed to the rain.

This process can also be used in a similar manner to collect moisture in the form of dew. The goal is to increase the surface area from which you can harvest dew and increase the amount of emergency water that may be available for your use. All that is required is a large piece of plastic or a tarp that can be used to create a dew collector. This can then be used to funnel the dew into any type of container that may be available. You may also want to have a small squeegee to use in the dew collection process and help maximize your collection efforts.

Collecting moisture in the form of dew can be a significant source of emergency water if you use a dew collector to maximize your efforts.

 You can see a design for a dew collection device here:

Fog and Dew Collectors

Got dew?

Staying above the water line!

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