Water Dowsing

[Nightterror]

Does anybody have experience with Dowsing? We are building a home north of Reno and are ready to put in a well. The driller requires us to pick the spot to drill and suggested we hire a Dowser. I am going to give it a try myself and wondered if any one here has any suggestions?

Thanks

[Badger]

As someone who doesn't put too much credence in the idea of dowsing I think I might head over to UNR (University of Nevada - Reno) and see if one of their fine geologists might be able to give you the name of someone who might helpyou out.

[mdmf007]

Dont wate your time -

Put it uphill of your septic system, and on the side of the house the utilities come in from. Saves money in laying underground work.

Unless you are scouting on thousands of acres you are going to hit the same geology wherever you drill on most parcel.

later

[Teo del Fuego]

I am pretty much an open-minded skeptic and think 95% of the crap in the New Age section is entertainment for the soft-minded. Having said that, I had a first-hand experience with dowsing. I worked a construction gig to help pay for college. We were building condos. The backhoe operator needed to dig a trench but was weary of hitting water lines. He found some really thick electrical wire that held its shape when bent. He skinned the wires, bent them at a 90 degree angle and held them very loosely in a slightly open fist. He paced back and forth and I watched as the copper "rods" criss-crossed a few times. Everywhere they crossed he stopped and made a mark with his foot. He instructed me to dig with my shovel. Sure enough, after digging a few feet down I hit water pipes at each spot. I doubt this was a hoax on a newbie because we were really pressed for time, this guy was usually deadly serious about everything else, and no one was watching us.

Of course, this could have been sheer coincidence, and Ocam's razor probably dictates that conclusion. Maybe Mr. Backhoe guy, on the last job, had some schlep digg 40 holes before locating waterpipes.

[Toolmaker]

From what I remember you don't want to use a rod thats steel due to the EM interference. Brass should do nicely bent into an L shape. Scientific studies have not shown dowsing to be accurate. I have not had the chance to get into it myself so I can help ya too much. Here are a few links you might find of interest.

Dowsing
http://www.dowsingworks.com/
http://www.digitaldowsers.org/

Skeptics

http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/13 ... tive.shtml
http://skepdic.com/dowsing.html

[Bob]

Steel wire works fine for finding shallow pipe, I've done it many times.

Finding groundwater aquifers is another thing altogether. Much better luck if you first contact local & state agencies that handle well permits, ask for information on all wells within a reasonable distance of your site, and ask for who in the agencies might give you first hand knowledge of the groundwater regime in the area. Plot what you find out on a map. Find out about water well permit requirements & proper well construction. Figure out the most appropriate places to put a well on your site, with regard to access, setbacks, etc. Then you might be informed enough to talk to an engineer, geologist and/or a drilling company. But only someone really desperate or stupid would pay someone to dowse for water.

[Nightterror]

Thanks for the input.

The Driller drilled the wells for the neighbors that share our west fence and the neighbors that share the north fence. He showed me their "drilling schedule" which listed depths and soil types. I can see both of their wells from our work site. We all own 40 acres of varied terrain.

The logical part that you all bring up is that the house is being built on the knoll. As MDM mentioned, the cost to get the water up the knoll from the lowest spot on the property far exceeds the cost of drilling the extra depth. Having said that, the knoll is only 1/2 acre so it does not really matter where we put the well because it is more than likely going to be the same depth anywhere from on the knoll.

Thanks again - it's all making sense.

[AntiM]

I don't know if this applies in Nevada, but perhaps you should check it out.

My inlaws in West Virgina has a well, as does my SIL. Sil had her water sampled, tested and registered with the state. My inlaws put in the well and didn't bother "registering" their water. When the oil company drilled/blasted across the ridge, they cracked the bedrock and the water became contaminated with saline to the point it was scarcely fit for washing much less drinking (sorry I don't know more details on how that happened). Had they registered their well, the oil company would have been liable and would have paid for a filtration system (or new well).

Worth asking about anyway!

[Nightterror]

Update -

Four of us went out to the Ranch to try water dowsing using one set of brass welding rods about 3ft in length bent into an "L" shape. We all decided to believe it was real and it would work so we set up a "course" and used a hand held GPS to mark the locations. We sent one person out at a time on the course with the GPS and a pen and paper while the others waited down the hill out of site.

The Results -

One person identified five locations on the course. Three people identified four locations on the course. We compared notes and all four people identified the exact same four locations. I have no idea why or how this happened but we were all amazed. Of all four of us, I was the most skeptical to start so I tried coming at the location from different directions thinking that the slope of the ground may be the deciding factor. It didn't matter, it always worked.

The next step is to discuss this with the builder but I must say that I am convinced.

P

[Badger]

Not sure how much of an issue it is but if you're fairly close to the playa and the local granite ranges you might want to look at having your water tested for heavy metals. The gold standard around these parts is the CAM 17 series which identifies 17 metals of concern.
Sb
As
Ba
Be
Cd
Cr
Co
Cu
Pb
Hg
Mo
Ni
Se
Ag
Tl
V
Zn

[Toolmaker]

As Bob mentioned.. steel for finding steel pipes and brass is whats used for water. Congrats on finding yer water!

[Bob]

Don't misquote me.

[Bob]

Update.........

Your story tells me nothing. You may have found groundwater, or you may have found a pipe, an abandoned trench, a buried car, or any number of things. Good luck with reality, bud. Hope the driller doesn't cost you twice as much because you're jerking him around with psychic mumbo jumbo.

[Cabana Springs]

I've dowsed before and it worked for me.

[Nightterror]

Bob Bud - You silly Urban Cowboy.

It doesn't matter if we found an old car or your exgirlfriend (boyfriend.) We did a blind test and we all found the same locations. We will still drill in the most convenient spot to the house. No jerking here.

We will have the water tested for purity. The neighbors all have clean, clear water so I am expecting that we will too. Our minds and expectations remain open.

Bobby - I am sorry for you that your mind is so limited. Breath, think, grow.

NT

[Toolmaker]

Don't misquote me.

Steel wire works fine for finding shallow pipe, I've done it many times.

As you see I didn't. You DID indeed point out in this thread that steel wire is used for finding pipes. Guess you forgot what you posted earlier.. no need to apologize.

[Toolmaker]

Steel wire works fine for finding shallow pipe, I've done it many times.

Just how many times would that be? Congratulations on succesfully dowsing. You have proved that dowsing works!! Just remember Bob that if you want to find water that you should use brass.

[Badger]

You have proved that dowsing works!!

Actually, that's hardly the case.

I was thinking that it'd be interesting to take the points which were picked by friends and then throw a few *random quads to see if the chances are any more or less likely to strike water.

* area marked off in a grid each of which is assigned a number. Ideally 25 grids appx 50' x 50'. Pick the same number of squares out of a hat as the number of friends that assisted with the dousing and then compare.

[Bob]

Bob Bud - You silly Urban Cowboy. <etc>

Congratulations. I use dowsing to find pipes I already know are there, either from utility maps, paint marks or visible junction boxes, and still give a wide berth before drilling or digging. Sounds like you used dowsing to find groundwater you already knew was there. Pure genius.

[Nightterror]

Bob Bud - You silly Urban Cowboy. <etc>

Congratulations. I use dowsing to find pipes I already know are there, either from utility maps, paint marks or visible junction boxes, and still give a wide berth before drilling or digging. Sounds like you used dowsing to find groundwater you already knew was there. Pure genius.

Maybe you should lube that dildo you have up your ass so it doesn't irritate your bowel and you can stop being such a prick.

I haven't posted here for a year or so and now I remember why. You're one bad apple that spoils the entire basket.

[Bob]

I missed where you said you talked to a geologist. You whole fucking state is made of rock, last I checked.

Anyhow, I'm pretty close to done trying to give rational advice on the eplaya. Once you people start tag-team fag-baiting and tallying up violations of Larry's Ten Principles, I figure it's all over. Enjoy your rave.

[Archantael]

The rebuttal was a bit harsh....when I lived in the Ozarks I knew several "old-timers" who used dowsing to find water sources....it seemed to work for them.

[timburly]

everyone PMSing or somthing?....

:-p don't get offended ladies i have my moments.

[GREENPENIS]

Is it too late to turn this thread into a dick joke ?

[GREENPENIS]

----- Nightterror wrote --------

Maybe you should lube that dildo you have up your ass so it doesn't irritate your bowel and you can stop being such a prick.



Oh crap, looks like i am too late

[wedeliver]

We will be dowsing tomorrow or monday and I will post the results. I need to find a sewer line. I tried with a couple of coat hangers. I found a spot that the coat hangers would cross as I walked over the area and would seperate when i passed it or backed up. My neighbor will come over and see what results he gets before we dig. (I just dug up an electric line that I used the old method to find) (bunch of fucking holes everywhere...)

[wedeliver]

We tried dowsing. Had a neighbor come over with experience in the field (joke) and he walked around with his coat hangers and I with mine, we had a good time drank a few beers, passed a fatty. I "WAS" trying to locate my sewer/waste connection that crossed a new water line I was digging. Anyway to make a long story short, I hit the sewer line and took out a 4 foot chuck. Fixed it quickly, but dowsing did not find what we were looking for. There was one area where the wires would cross and I need to dig there to see if there is anything there. One thing I now know for sure is that is not where the waste line is.