Segment information (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) segment	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of Reportable Segments | segment	4
Revenue	$ 68,793,651	$ 65,719,857
Cost of Revenue	40,519,303	38,977,570
Gross profit	28,274,348	26,742,287
General and administrative expenses	19,348,958	18,709,419
Gain (loss) on asset dispositions and impairments, net	445,041	(56,774)
Income (loss) from operations	9,370,431	7,976,094
Other income (expense), net	801,091	2,740,064
Income before income taxes	10,171,522	10,716,158
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	66,621	(157,291)
Net income from continuing operations	10,104,901	10,873,449
Income from continuing operations attributable to non-controlling interests	1,549,978	695,787
Net income from continuing operations attributable to Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. stockholders	8,554,923	10,177,662
Total income from discontinued operations	3,621,170	1,115,825
Net income	12,176,093	11,293,487
Accounts receivable, net	23,229,689	22,462,217
Property, plant and equipment, net	61,248,979	58,880,818
Construction in progress	1,335,597	6,015,043
Intangibles, net	5,040,000	1,891,667
Goodwill	13,325,013	8,004,597
Land and rights of way held for development	24,162,523	24,161,024
Assets of discontinued operations	0	3,903,527
Assets, Total	192,292,144	172,515,598
Retail [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	26,456,022	25,621,048
Cost of Revenue	11,611,165	11,011,456
Gross profit	14,844,857	14,609,592
General and administrative expenses	13,422,821	12,029,646
Gain (loss) on asset dispositions and impairments, net	398,041	(12,263)
Income (loss) from operations	1,820,077	2,567,683
Accounts receivable, net	2,891,165	2,947,193
Property, plant and equipment, net	29,177,718	24,435,501
Construction in progress	396,214	5,437,093
Goodwill	1,170,511	1,170,511
Assets, Total	65,554,640	61,210,879
Bulk [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	26,986,108	31,031,287
Cost of Revenue	18,606,805	21,551,383
Gross profit	8,379,303	9,479,904
General and administrative expenses	1,238,296	1,301,042
Gain (loss) on asset dispositions and impairments, net	47,000
Income (loss) from operations	7,188,007	8,178,862
Accounts receivable, net	18,883,493	18,480,589
Property, plant and equipment, net	30,281,647	32,820,908
Construction in progress	869,792	574,659
Goodwill	1,948,875	1,948,875
Assets, Total	69,423,770	67,740,088
Services [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	1,759,446	1,811,372
Cost of Revenue	1,215,193	1,503,034
Gross profit	544,253	308,338
General and administrative expenses	2,740,219	2,889,703
Gain (loss) on asset dispositions and impairments, net		(41,180)
Income (loss) from operations	(2,195,966)	(2,622,545)
Accounts receivable, net	954,149	46,960
Property, plant and equipment, net	168,585	14,772
Construction in progress		3,291
Intangibles, net	3,877,222
Goodwill	5,320,416
Land and rights of way held for development	24,162,523	24,161,024
Assets, Total	42,459,177	27,406,983
Manufacturing Units [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	13,592,075	7,256,150
Cost of Revenue	9,086,140	4,911,697
Gross profit	4,505,935	2,344,453
General and administrative expenses	1,947,622	2,489,028
Gain (loss) on asset dispositions and impairments, net		(3,331)
Income (loss) from operations	2,558,313	(147,906)
Accounts receivable, net	500,882	987,475
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,621,029	1,609,637
Construction in progress	69,591
Intangibles, net	1,162,778	1,891,667
Goodwill	4,885,211	4,885,211
Assets, Total	14,854,557	12,254,121
Continuing Operations [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets, Total	$ 192,292,144	$ 168,612,071