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We are currently exploring the possibility of building a house on some property we own in Agua Dulce, Ca. We will have to build a well, as per L.A. County. Several houses up here already have good producing wells. In our investigations, it seems that everyone we talk to, contractors, well pump companies, well diggers, other homeowners, everyone...recommends a water dowser to find water. I am on the skeptical side of this as it seems like so much hocus pocus to me. But people here swear by them to find water on your property. Has anyone out there every used one or had any experience with this?
I think there's pretty clear evidence that it really is just hocus pocus.
There have been numerous experiments done with water dowsers and were no more successful than random chance (1948 New Zealand, 1979 Chicago, 2004 Germany)
The 1987-88 Betz study, which, at the time claimed that some 6 dowsers involved had been more successful than random chance was found to be highly flawed. In 1993, a second team re-analyzed the data gathered and found that no dowser had been successful beyond the bounds of expected statistical fluctuation and, more damning, that the criteria made the "success" meaningless - the 6 "successful" dowsers were, on average 4 millimeters out of 10 meters closer to a mid-line guess (a 0.0004% better success rate).
Probably the best explanation for the continued appeal and apparent succes of dowsing has come from hydrogeologists employed with the USGS - That most of North America is so water rich that if one drills deep enough, it's very difficult to not hit water eventually.
I've had experience with line locators who wanted to dowse for buried pipelines (which is fine, so long as they do it electronically and bill me the same) and the results have been less than spectacular - not awful, just about what I'd expect to get with a map and some guesswork.
Thank you for your reply. I am very interested in why so many people use them. I mean, the geological based "finders", if you will, are very expensive and perhaps that is the appeal. But it is crazy that every person we talk to, every professional and every lay person who has used one swears by them. Perhaps it is because they are much cheaper, and as you said, water is not hard to find here, depending on how far you dig. I would love to hear from others who have used them and their results, good and bad. There is a lot of money at stake when you intend on building a well. You could be our $50k and find you have a dry well, with no recourse to recoup your money!
We not only have used them but know many others that have also.
In addition, since the land we were on had "water water everywhere" we were asked to host a few meetings of a dowser society during which they were also teaching others. I haven't seen them wrong yet...not meaning just during those meetings but with all the people we personally know.
The leaders were quite down to earth and provided some theories as to why it works...no hocus pocus involved.
We got to see several demonstrations that even made a big cynic like me have to move over to the camp of people that give it enough credence to say, why not use one?
The worst that can happen is the spot is dry, which can happen without one.
In our area , dowsers weren't known to charge any specific fees above travel expenses, if any,but would certainly accept donations.
These days, with a new crop, that may no longer be true. All the dowsers we knew have died out.
At my former dairy farm in Minnesota, most farmers in our area had deep granite wells.
In the early 80's, nearly every one of those expensive 300 ft-600 ft wells started to have low capacity. My 330 ft well, also.
All the dairy farmers in our area used a water witch/dowser.
Sure, the well driver laughed at us. He sure made a " killing " $$$$$$$$$$$ drilling those deep wells a few years before.
Instead of a 330 ft granite well, my son now has a 67 ft wll that takes care of his house, milk house, and provides 25-30 gallons of dinking water daily to each of his 80 milk cows.
The neighbor to the north now has a 66 ft well that supplies water to 2 houses and 110 milk cows.
A mile east, a witcher located water across the gravel road and he now waters 300 head of cattle from that witched well.
To the west was a 620 ft granite well. The witcher found him water that waters 100 head of dairy cattle also.
That is pretty much what we are hearing...that they are somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% right. I am not sure how this works. The dowsers here all want between $250-$300 to look for water. So, I have that to lose and if they are incorrect and we drill a dry well based on their recommendation, that is a lot of money to lose. Still, SO many people are saying exactly what you are saying about their accuracy that it bodes further investigation. Maybe I am too caught up in the WHY and HOW does it work and not the claims that it DOES work. Hmmm...
When my 330 ft granite well started to diminish, an old man who was a neighbor on a former farm happened to stop over. He did not know I was having trouble.
He took a stick, knelt down by my old well and the stick started bobbing and he counted the bobs out loud.
knelt so long he had a hard time getting up as it bobbed 330 times.................the exact depth of the well.
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We have a guy here in town and I've called him a few times looking for water or sewer lines. He finds them each time. I don't understand how he does it but I call him anytime I'm looking. Just sayin'.
People I know witch for their own water. I've personally tracked lines on places when I didn't know where they were, and have witched two wells. My well guy puts his two cents in and checks with his own swipe over the area. We always come to agreement.
I really did think everyone did it.
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