water dowsing

7/30/2019 Water Dowsing

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U. S . Depar tment of the I nteri or/ Geol ogi cal SurveyAs the Nat i on' s pr i nci pal conservat i on

agency, the Depar tment of the I nteri or has Water Dowsi ngresponsi bi l i ty f or most of our nati onal l yowned publ i c l ands and natural resources .Thi s i ncl udes fosteri ng the w sest use ofour l and and water resources, protecti ng

our f i s h and w l dl i fe, preservi ng the envi ronmental andcul t ural val ues of our nati onal parks and hi stori calpl aces, and provi di ng for the enj oyment of l i f e throughoutdoor recreati on The Depar tment assesses ourenergy and mneral resources and works to assure thatthei r devel opment i s i n the best i nterests of al l ourpeopl e The Depar tment al so has a maj or responsi bi l i tyf or Ameri can I ndi an reservati on communi t i es and forpeopl e who l i ve i n I sl and Terr i tori es under U. S .admni str at i on.

. S . GOVERNMENT PRI NTI NG OFFI CE 1988-218-668

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Wat er Dowsi ngOne of the maj or responsi bi l i t i es of theU. S .

Geol ogi cal Survey i s to assess the quant i tyand qual i ty of the Nati on' s surface- andground- water suppl i es . The Survey' s Wat erResources D vi si on, i n cooperat i on w th otherFederal , State, and l ocal agenci es, mai ntai ns anat i onw de hydrol ogi c data network andcarri es out water- resource and hydrol ogi ci nvesti gati ons .

Numer ous general i nqui ri es concerni ngwater resources and hydrol ogy are di rectedto the Survey, whi ch has prepared a numberof "popul ar publ i cat i ons" to hel p answersuch requests . As part of that group ofpubl i cat i ons, thi s l eaf l et was prepared toanswer some of the most f requentl y askedquest i ons about the subj ect of water dowsi ngand i s not i ntended to make edi tori alcomment on dowsi ngor i t s practi t i oners .

What I s Water Dowsi ng?"Water dowsi ng" refers i n general to the

practi ce of usi ng a f orked sti ck, rod,pendul um or si ml ar devi ce to l ocateunderground water, mneral s, or otherhi dden or l ost subst ances, and has been asubj ect of di scussi on and controversy f orhundreds, i f not thousands, of years .

Al though tool s and met hods vary w del y,most dowsers (al so cal l ed di vi ners or waterw tches) probabl y s t i l l use the t radi t i onalf orked sti ck, whi ch may come froma vari et yof trees, i ncl udi ng the w l l ow peach, andw tch hazel . Other dowsers may use keys,w re coathangers, pl i ers, w re rods,pendul ums, or vari ous ki nds of el aborateboxes and el ectr i cal i nst ruments . Some cl ai mpowers t hat enabl e t hemto "see" through soi land rock, and some are medi ums whogo i ntot rances when condi t i ons are f avorabl e

I n the cl assi c met hod of usi ng a f orked sti ck,one fork i s hel d i n each hand w th the pal msupward The bot tomor but t end of the "Y" i spoi nted skyward at an angl e of about 45 . Thedowser than wal ks back and forth over thearea to be tested When he passes over asource of water, the butt end of the sti ck i ssupposed to rotate or be attracted downwar d .

Accordi ng to dowser s, the at tr acti on of thewater may be so great that the bark peel s offas the rod tws t s i n the hands . Some dowsersare sai d to have suf f ered bl i steredor bl oodyhands f romthe tw st i ng .

Al though most dowsi ng f or water i s done atthe actual s ite where water i s needed, somedowsers cl ai mto be abl e to l ocate watersi mpl y by passi ng the st i ck over a map.


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Water dowsers practi ce mai nl y i n rural orsuburban communi t i es where resi dent s areuncer tai n as to howt o l ocate t he best andcheapest suppl y of ground water . Becausethe d r i l l i n g and devel opment of a wel l oftencosts mor e than a thousand dol l ars,homeowners are understandabl y rel uctant togambl e on a dry hol e and turn to t he waterdowser f or advi ce The dowser, i n turn,undoubtedl y bel i eves that he i s endowedw th a natural ab i l i t y or has f ound a workabl ei f unexpl ai nabl e method of l ocat i ngunderground water .

Water i s onl y one of many substances thatdi f f erent dowsers cl ai mt hey can fi ndD vi ni ng rods have been used i n att empts t ol ocate gol d, si l ver, l ead, urani um o i l , coal ,and other val uabl e mneral s ; to di scoverbur i ed or hi dden treasure ; to f i nd l ostl andmarks and reestabl i sh propertyboundari es to detect cri mnal s or hi ddensol di ers as wel l as to analyze personalcharacter, and to trace l ost ani mal s . A f ewdowsers even cl ai mthe abi l i ty to diagnoseand cure di sease or to determne t he sex ofan unborn chi l dHowD d Wat er Dowsi ng Begi n?

Cave pai nt i ngs i n northwestern Af ri ca thatare 6, 000- 8,000 years ol d are bel i eved toshowa water dowser at work . D vi ni ng rodswere al so used by the Scythi ans, Persi ans,and Medes . Most accounts, however , byGreek and Roman natural i sts and sci enti stsdo not menti on t he use of a magi c rod,al though they do gi ve hi nts and di rect i ons f orf i ndi ng wat er .

The exact ori gi n of the di vi ni ng rod i nEurope i s not known The f i r s t detai l eddescri pt i on of i t i s i n J ohar ) nes Agri col a' s "DeRe Metal l i ca" (1556), a descri pt i on of Germanmnes and mni ng methods The devi ce wasi nt roduced in to England dur i ng the rei gn ofEl i zabeth I ( 1558- 1603) to l ocate mneraldeposi ts, and soon af terward i t was adoptedas a wat er f i nder t hroughout Europe.The pract i ce of water dowsi ng has al waysaroused w despread cont roversy . I t s 17th century champi ons att empted to expl ai n i t by thepri nci pal of "empathy" or "att racti on andrepul si on . " I t s adversari es condemned i t as asupersti t i ous and vai n pract i ce Some hel dthat the sti ck was moved by a satani c i n-f l uence, and others bel i eved that the dowserrecei ved hi s power fromGodDespi te opposi t i on fromchurch and l ayl eaders, use of the rod spread t hroughoutEurope Water dowsi ng seems to be a mai nl yEuropean cul tural phenomenon, compl etel yunknown to NewWorl d I ndi ans and Eski mos .I t was carr i ed across the Atl anti c to Ameri caby some of the earl i est sett l ers fromEnglandand Ger many . Al t hough the publ i shed recordwas very sl i ght at f i rst, water dowsi ng orw tchi ng began to be menti oned af ter 1675 i nconnect i on w th w tches and w tchcraf t . Twoart i cl es condemni ng i t appeared i n the1821 and 1826 i ssues of the Ameri can J ournal


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of Sci enceandwere among the f i r s t i n a l ongl i ne of treati ses on water w tchi ng.

Despi te al most unani mous condemnati onby geol ogi sts and techni ci ans, the practi ce ofwater dowsi ng has spread throughoutAmeri ca. I t has been specul ated thatt housands of dowsers are acti ve i n theUni ted States many aremember s of theAmeri can Soci ety of Dowsers, I nc.What Do Dowsers Bel i eveAboutGround Water?Some dowsers seemto bel i eve that wateroccurs i n vei ns resembl i ng the vei ns of one' s

body . Accordi ng to Henry Gross, one of thebest knownmodern pract i t i oners,undergroundwater f l ows upward f romgreatdepths, f ormng "domes . " He bel i eves suchdomes to be the source of water forundergroundvei ns that f l ow i n vari ousdi recti ons . Threedomes supposedl y on topof Mount Washi ngton, N H , were sai d to becomng froma depth of 57, 000 f eet .

Most dowsers attempt onl y to l ocate theposi t i ons of the so-cal l ed water vei ns . Butmany of thei r cl i ents ask : Howdeep w l l Ihave to dr i l l , and howmuchwater w l l I get?Some dowsers, t herefore, do attempt toesti mate the quanti ty of and the depth towater .

I f the wel l dr i l l er does not f i nd water at thei ndi cated spot, the fai l uremay be bl amed oni nterference of hi l l s w th the dowsi ng, a shortci rcui t of "current, " i ncorrect dri l l i ng, or thecrushi ng or def l ecti on of the del i cate watervei ns by the dr i l l er .What Does Sci enceSay AboutDowsi ng?

Case hi stori es and demonst rati ons ofdowsers may seemconvi nci ng, but whendowsi ng i s exposed to sci enti f i c examnati on,i t presents a very di f f erent pi cture Fori nstance, what does i t mean to say that a

Ground-water areas i n the contermnous Uni ted Statcapabl e of yi el di ng 50 gal l ons per mnute or mor e toEXPLANATI ON

Any pattern shows an area underl ai naqui f er general l y capabl e of yi el di ngi ndi vidual wel l s 50 gpm(gal l ons peror mor e of water cont ai ni ng not mor2,000 ppm (parts per ml l i on) of di sscsol i ds ( i ncl udes areas where more himneral i zed water i s actual l y used) .Watercourses i n whi ch ground water canbe repl eni shed by perenni al stream .

Bur i ed val l eys not now occupied byperenni al stream .

Unconsol i dated and semconsol i datedaqui f ers (mostl y sand and gravel ) .


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i i s

an

V

F 51100

I200 MLES

I

Consol i dated- r ock aqui f ers (mostl y l i mestone, sandst one, or vol cani c rocks) .

Both unconsol i dated-and consol i dated- r ockaqui f ers .

Not known to be underl ai n by aqui f er thatw l l general l y yi el d as much as 50 gpmtowel l s.


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dowser i s successf ul i n 8 out of 10 cases?The dowser may f i nd water, but howmuch?And of what qual i ty? At what rate can i t bew thdrawn? For howl ong and w th whati mpact on other wel l s and on nearby st reams?The natural expl anat i on of "successf ul "water dowsi ng i s t hat i n many areas water

woul d be hard to mss . The dowser commonl yi mpl i es that the spot i ndi cated by the rod i sthe onl y one where water coul d be f ound,but thi s i s not necessari l y true. I n a regi on ofadequate rai nf al l and f avorabl e geol ogy, i t i sdi ff i cul t not to d r i l l and f i nd water!Some water exi sts under the Eart h' ssurf ace al most everywhere . Thi s expl ai ns

whymany dowsers appear to be successf ul .To l ocate ground water accuratel y, however,as to depth, quant i t y, and qual i ty, a number oftechni ques must be used Hydrol ogi c,geol ogi c, and geophysi cal know edge i sneeded to determne the depths and extentof the di f f erent water- beari ng strata and thequanti ty and qual i ty of water f ound i n eachThe area must be thoroughl y tested andstudi ed to determne these facts. The U. S .Geol ogi cal Survey, the Federal agency w thmaj or responsi bi l i ty f or assessi ng thequanti ty and qual i ty of the Nati on' s surf aceand ground waters, bel i eves that no si ngl e

Pump

WatSt r eamTabl e

Wel lWater- bear i ng rock

techni que suf f i ces to l ocate f avorabl e water-wel l si t es .Numer ous books and pamphl ets have been

wri tten on the subj ect of water dowsi ng.Some of these publ i cat i ons report onsci enti f i cal l y control l ed experi ments andi nvesti gati ons . Fromthese f i ndi ngs, the U. S .Geol ogi cal Survey has concl uded that theexpenseof further tests of water dowsi ng i snot j ust i f i ed.HowDoes Ground Wat er Occur?

Contrary to the bel i ef of dowsers, groundwater does not commonl y f l ow i n vei ns,domes, or underground ri vers . Ground wateri s the water whi ch f i l l s pores or cracks i nunderground rocks. I t i s repl eni shed bynature accordi ng to the l ocal cl i mate andgeol ogy and i s vari abl e i n both amount andqual i ty When rai l f a l l s , the pl ants and soi l take upwater . Some of the excess water runs of f to

stream, andsome percol ates down i nto thepores or cracks i n the subsurf ace rocks . Awel l that extends i nto the saturated zone w l lf i l l w th water to the l evel of the water tabl ethe top of the zone i n whi ch al l the openi ngsof the rocks are f i l l ed w th water .

I t i s i mportant to knowwhether water w l lfl ow i nto the wel l f ast enough to make i tusef ul f or man' s purposes A"ti ght" rocksuch as cl ay or sol i d grani t e, w th t i ny poresor onl y a f ewnarrowcracks, may gi ve upwater so sl ow y that i t i s not usef ul I f theopeni ngs i n the rock are l argeenough to l etwater fl owf reel y, however, water i n usefulamount s can be taken out .Several water- beari ng rock l ayers may l i ebeneath the surface, separated by l ayers ofrock l ess capabl e of carryi ng water . Thi sgeol ogi c conf i gurati on may gi ve ri se toartesi an condi t i ons, where water l evel s i nwel l s that penetrate the deeper l ayers ofwater-carryi ng rock r ise under pressure andi n some i nstances r ise so hi gh as to createf l ow ng wel l s .

1 0


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Water (not ground water) hel d by mol ecul ar att racti onsurrounds surf aces of rock part i cl es

Approxi mate l evel of the water tabl e

Al l openi ngs bel owwat er tabl e ful l of waterground wat erHowground water occurs i n rocks .

sand An "aqui f er" i s any body of rock thatHowDo Hydrol ogi sts Locate contai ns a usabl e suppl y of water . AgoodGround Water? aqui f er must be both porous enough to hol dwater and permeabl e enough t o al l owthe

Compar ed to the dowser' s dramati c cont i nuous recharge of water t o a wel l .di spl ay, the hydrol ogi st' s procedure f or Gravel , sand, sandst one, and l i mestone arel ocati ng ground water may seemdul l H s among the best aqui f er s, but they f ormonl ypati ent pursui t of the unseen i s i nteresti ng, a f racti on of the rocks i n the Earth' s crust .nonethel ess . Most rocks are f i ne grai ned or otherw seThe l andscape of f ers hel pf ul cl ues . Shal l ow "ti ght" and store or carry l i t t l e water .ground water i s mor e l i kel y to occur i n l arger As a f i r s t step i n l ocati ng ground water,quanti ti es under val l eys than under hi l l s, the hydrol ogi st prepares a geol ogi c mapbecause ground water obeys the l awof show ng where the di f f erent ki nds of rockgravi ty and f l ows downwar d j ust as surf ace come to the l and surf ace Some of the rockswater does I n ar i d regi ons the presence of may be so cracked and broken t hat they"water- l ovi ng" pl ants i s an i ndi cat i on of provi de good openi ngs to carry waterground water at shal l owdepth . Any area underground . The rocks may be so f ol dedwhere water shows up at the surface, i n and di spl aced, however, that i t i s diff icult tospri ngs, seeps, swamps, or l akes, must have trace thei r l ocat i on underground.some ground water, t hough not necessari l y Next, he gathers i nf ormat i on on the wel l si n l arge quanti ty or of usabl e qual i ty . i n the area- thei r l ocat i ons, the depth to

Rocks are the most val uabl e cl ues of al l . water, the amount of water pumped, and theHydrol ogi sts use the word "r ock" f or hard, ki nds of rock they penetrate Because heconsol i dated f ormati ons such as sandst one, cannot al ways afford to d r i l l a test hol e t ol i mestone, or grani te as wel l as f or l oose, obtai n i nf ormati on, records of wel l s al readyunconsol i dated sedi ments such as gravel or dr i l led are hi s mai nstay.

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I f there are no wel l s i n the area, or notenough i nformati on i s avai l abl e on exi sti ngones, the hydrol ogi st may contract w th a wel ldri l l er to put down some test hol es . At thesehol es he w l l make pumpi ng or aqui fer tests .These tests i ndi cate the water- beari ngproperti es of the aqui fer tapped by the wel l .Fromthe tests the hydrol ogi st can determnethe amount of water movi ng through theaqui f er , the vol ume of water that can enterthe wel l , and the ef f ect of pumpi ngon thewater l evel of other wel l s i n the area.

For man' s use of water, qual i ty i s j ust asi mportant as quanti ty . The hydrol ogi st w l ltake sampl es of water fromdi f f erent wel l sand have t hemchemcal l y anal yzed

The hydrol ogi st' s report and geol ogi c mapw l l showwhere water can be f ound, i t schemcal composi t i on, and i n a general way,howmuch i s avai l abl e Thi s i s the sci enti f i capproach used by theU. S Geol ogi cal Survey,State resource agenci es, and consul t i ngengi neers i n maki ng t hei r ground- waterstudi es . I nf ormat i on about l ocal ground-watercondi t i ons may be f ound i n the of f i ces thatthe U. S Geol ogi cal Survey' s Wat erResources D vi si on mai ntai ns i n al l 50States

WhereCan I Fi nd Out More AboutWat er Dowsi ng and GroundWater?The onl y comprehensi ve report on water

dowsi ng publ i shed by the U. S . Geol ogi calSurvey i s The D vi ni ng Rod, A H story ofWat er Wtchi ng, byA J . E l l i s , publ i shed asUSGS Water- Suppl y Paper 416 i n 1917 andrepri nted i n 1957. Thi s report contai nsdetai l ed i nf ormati on and i ncl udes r ef erencesto several hundred papers on the use of thedi vi ni ng rod and rel ated subj ects .U. S . Geol ogi cal Survey Water- Suppl y Paper

1800 The Rol e of Ground Wat er i n theNati onal Wat er Si tuat i on, by C. L .McGui nness, 1963, summari zes the1 4

occurrence and devel opment of ground wateri n the contermnous Uni ted States .

These reports are nowout of pri nt, but canbe consul ted at cert ai n Geol ogi cal Surveyl i brari es and of f i ces .

For a si mpl e and easi l y underst ooddi scussi on of basi c f acts, pri nci pl es, andprobl ems of water, consul t A Pri mer onWater, by L . B Leopol d andWB. Langbei n,1960, and A Pri mer on Ground Water, by H L . Bal dw nand C L . McGui nness, 1963Thesepri mers are sol d by the Al exandri aBranch of D stri buti on l is ted bel ow

Thi s publ i cati on i s one of a seri es of general i nterest publ i cati onsprepared by the U. S Geol ogi cal Survey to provide i nformati on aboutt he eart h sci ences, natural r esources, andt heenvi ronment . To obtain a catalogof additi onal t i t l es i n the seri es "General I nterestPubli cati ons of theUS Geologi cal Survey, " w i t e:

Book and Open-Fi l e Report s Secti onUS Geologi cal SurveyFederal Center, Box 25425Denver, CO80225

water dowsing

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