High Desert Institute

Desert Water Solutions

Researching and developing technologies for water sourcing in arid environments, with a primary focus on atmospheric water generators (Air Wells) to extract moisture from the air.

Desert Water Solutions

We are dedicated to solving the challenge of water scarcity in the high desert through innovative sourcing and conservation technologies.

Rainwater Catchment & Storage

Given the infrequent but intense desert storms, we design and implement rainwater catchment systems that maximize water collection during these events.

Roof Catchment

Utilizing building roofs to channel rainwater into storage tanks.

Subsurface Basin Storage

We transform large outdoor areas into invisible water storage systems with built-in rain catchment.

  • Construction: A large, shallow basin is excavated and lined with durable neoprene. This basin is filled with large, hollow, perforated, high-strength plastic cubes.
  • Concealment: A fine mesh covers the cubes, followed by a layer of sand and rocks. This allows the surface to be used for growing plants while hiding the water storage below.
  • Function: Rainwater permeates through the sand and rocks, filling the void space within the cubes. This design eliminates evaporation and prevents algae growth.
  • Access & Irrigation: Standpipes reach down between the cubes, allowing simple solar-powered, metered pumps to extract water. This water provides precise irrigation to plants on the surface, with any excess dripping back down into the basin for reuse.
  • Capacity: A single outdoor subsurface basin can store tens of thousands of gallons of water, making it an efficient solution for water storage in arid environments.
  • Overflow Management: Excess water from roof catchment systems can be directed into these basins, ensuring maximum utilization of available water during rain events.
  • Walls: A short wall, plus signage around this basin garden prevents any vehicles from accidentally driving into it.

A Happy Consequence of Ecological Disaster

Air pollution is high, and it’s going up. This has the side effect of increasing the amount of water vapor in the air and reducing the amount of rain. This means the air is full of humidity for us to tap into. By developing technologies that extract this moisture, we can turn an ecological problem into a solution for water scarcity.

Water from thin air

Air Wells & Atmospheric Water Generation

A cornerstone of our research is the development of “Air Wells”—passive and active atmospheric water generators that extract moisture directly from the air. This technology provides a sustainable water source for remote and off-grid living, even in arid conditions where traditional wells may not be feasible.

Integrated Water Systems: The Earthship Approach

We are adapting the Earthship model of water reuse to create a powerful distillation cycle using biological systems.

  • Inputs (Greywater & Rainwater): We capture every drop available.
    • Greywater: Water from sinks and showers is channeled into attached greenhouses.
    • Rainwater: Roof catchment systems direct precipitation into the same biological filtration systems.
  • Biological Distillation: Plants in the greenhouse filter this water and release it into the air as humidity through transpiration.
  • Greenhouse Extraction: By placing Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) inside these humidity-rich greenhouse environments, we can harvest this moisture.
  • The Result: The AWGs condense the plant-transpired humidity into perfectly clean, distilled drinking water. This creates a closed loop where water is continuously purified and recycled, drastically reducing the need for external sources.

Storage Solutions

We create durable, evaporation-resistant storage infrastructure that integrates with the landscape to hold water for the dry seasons, ensuring that our catchment systems can handle the rare but intense desert storms.

Guilds

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