Chile – Padre Hurtado 1999-2004
FogQuest Operational Project
Update 2009
This is an example of a fog-collection project that successfully fulfilled a societal need for 5 years. It was concluded that the church would no longer staff or operate the sanctuary as before. The potential for fog water production remains for future use.
Update October 2004
With the phasing out of the church’s activities at the Sanctuary of Padre Hurtado, we have ceased our commitment to helping with the water supply for the Sanctuary. The current LFCs will be repaired and relocated on the mountain. Please see the Cerro Talinay description for further information.
Background
There were 8 large fog collectors on Talinay Mountain (Cerro Talinay) in central Chile for 5 years. The collectors provided about 1500 litres of water a day, through a 3.5 km pipeline, to the Sanctuary of Padre Hurtado, located on the Pan American Highway about 750 meters below. This project was funded largely by the Baehr family in British Columbia, Canada, and was inaugurated in October 1999, before FogQuest was formed. The project was developed and constructed by experts who are now members of FogQuest. The water from the collectors went to a 35 m3 reservoir near the Sanctuary. The water was used for the caretaker’s home, the site’s gardens, and the bathrooms for the several thousand visitors each month. The fog collectors successfully met the Sanctuary’s daily water needs. The Sanctuary is located in one of Chile’s poorest rural areas. Average annual rainfall is only about 100 mm and the terrain is extremely dry. This severely limits the possibilities for both agriculture and animal husbandry among the people in nearby settlements.
From 2001 to 2004, FogQuest provided modest assistance in maintaining the site. The work was carried out by staff and students in the Geography Institute of the Pontifical University of Chile in Santiago under the direction of Pablo Osses. A discussion of the site and the results from the fog collection measurements has appeared in several publications.
Approximate location of this project.