Water divining fact or fiction?

[JJPWAus]

As the temperature starts to rise at this end of the globe, I started thinking about the long hot summer ahead and the need to sink a bore to try and keep the place a little greener.
In my youth I remembered when my dad had a water diviner locate his bore with two bent pieces of mild steel wire. The wires are held loosely in each hand and they rotate back into you and cross over when they are held over an underground water course.
Both my brother and I tried it over the weekend and it would appear that it seems to work, I even checked it against my underground water main, (plastic pipe) and my reticulation piping, the wires reacted each time and it was surprisingly accurate.
I live at the bottom of a reasonable steep valley with a winter creek that flows from May to Dec/January, so I was reasonable optimistic about finding an underground water course heading through our property to the creek line.
We located two possible streams which flow from one end of the property down to the creek. The wires reacted much faster and more forcibly than over my water main. I will try again in a month or two once things start to really dry out.

Anyone out there used this method before? Have any thoughts or had other experiences with water divining, that they would like to share.

 

[KennyV]

John...
I had a utility contractor show me that about 25 years ago /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif… He trusted it more than electronic locators /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif…

Since then I have done it many times… All I can say for sure is it works very well in Kansas… Only thing I do different than you, I was shown using brazing rods. I would think any metal rod will work.

You can find water lines, or any buried cable, pipe and water. Your waiting for the driest time of year should help pinpoint the best source of water. KennyV.

 

[Varmintmist]

Any 2 pieces of wire will work, its called a "model 77" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif for cable and pipe. I used it a lot locating underground cable, it isnt as accurate as the machines, but with practice, you can be real close. Close enough so you dont dig through it.

I had my well dowsed, the guy used a cherry limb in the shape of a Y. I figured it was BS, so after he left, I cut a limb and tried it. It works.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Anyone out there used this method before? )</font>

I've tried it myself, and I've watched others do it; never with steel wire, but with heavy copper wire and with willow limbs (forked limbs on which you hold the two smaller ends and wait for the other to pull down). I've seen it apparently work and I've seen it fail as often as it worked. Just blind luck? I still don't know. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[mark777]

John,

We had a problem with property that had plenty of water and all bad. Most of the wells at 60 to 150 feet contained Boron, and although if it is treated (heavily filtered) it still tasted bad, left brown stains on tub and clothes, etc. and the smell of rotten eggs could be detected in your drinking water.

Hired a diviner who walked the 20 acres for two days and found a spot on the edge of the property and stated here is good water but 400' down. Brought in a well crew, and had to use mud gel around the 8" casing for the first 200' and hit an aquafir at 440'. That Ag well cost almost $8K in 1988, but it was the best and sweetest water for miles around. It had the capacity to put out about 150 gpm. I was very skeptical but now I am a believer.

Mark

 

[daedong]

John,

It won't work in WA, there is no water /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

There was a guy in the South East of South Australia that claimed he could divine for water, He made an absolute fortune doing it, But you could dig a hole 6' deep anywhere in the area and you would have struck water /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Harv]

John -

I guess we all have our stories to tell. Here's the one I posted a couple of years ago. Turned me from a disbeliever into at least an agnostic. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[turnkey4099]

Also an agnostic. I have used the rods many times and had some success, some not. Almost all the successes were when I knew approximately where the cable/pipe/aquifer whatever was located either by knowledge or just the lay of the land, i.e., the well is there, the house here, the line must run...yep, the rods show it is.

I had a leaking pipe from a community well. I traced the line from the well to a spigot in an abondoned schoolhouse..very firm indicators and it ran in the logical place for 1/4 mile. Only problem is when I dug for the line, nothing found, when I dug up the pipe at the schoolhouse it entered 90 degree away from what my rods showed.

Did find the septic tank drain lines for my neighbor without knowing where...but they were in the only logical spot.

As for water. In this area it is almost gauranteed that you will find water no matter where you dig, just a matter of depth. I did site a well for another neighbor but only because he was convinced I could do it. Yes he hit water but I bet he would have done the same by blindly picking a spot.

Harry K

 

[JJPWAus]

Harv,
Great post, enjoyed reading it and the reactions to it.
It can't all be smoke an mirrors??
I am going to check with our local water authority, as I have been led to believe that they have detailed local maps of the subterranean water systems and info from other bore owners in my general area. I'll be very interested to see what they have and where they might recommend a bore hole!!

 

[Boondox]

Agnostic here, too! I always thought of witching as hocus pocus, but after seeing folks use it successfully several times I gotta admit there might be something to it. One of my neighbors has five wells each feeding a basement cistern at a trickle. After seeing how little water they got, and how big the bill was, Tamara and I decided to stay on surface water from our springhouse.

But another neighbor, less than 150 feet from the other's well heads, brought in a diviner. The old woman crossed the land from several angles and got a solid hit each time at the same point. "Good water here," she said, "but deep." Sure enough, at 400' they hit 17gpm!

Not sure what to think about it all. Pete