Divine intervention: yes, water companies using dowsing really is that bad

[Judi Lynn]

It turns out that water companies have been using dowsing to find damaged pipes, and this is an extremely common practice. But is it a big deal? Yes, it is.

Dean Burnett
@garwboy
Wednesday 22 November 2017 08.44 EST

OK, so most UK water companies have people who use divining rods to find leaks and burst pipes, although many have since back-pedalled on these admissions since the story broke, thanks to the sterling work of science writer Sally Le Page, who deserves all credit for it. Understandable perhaps; if you were a major utility provider earning millions by providing an essential resource to large populations, you’d probably be a bit embarrassed if people found out your highly-trained and expensive technicians were essentially using witchcraft to fix problems.

But, the expense and professionalism aspects aside, is it really that bad? Aren’t people overreacting a bit? It’s not like they’re claiming they can cure cancer or speak to the dead or anything like that, effectively taking money from the grieving and desperate. So some technicians wander around a field waving twigs about in an effort to find a leak? Bit weird, but where’s the harm? There must be something to it, surely? So what’s the harm?

Well, there’s a lot of potential harm that could be easily avoided by water companies sticking to methods that have a basis in reality.

But hold on, you may say, dowsing has been around for hundreds of years and, demonstrably, is still in use, so surely there must be something to it, right? In a way, maybe. The idea that you can walk around unremarkable ground with a rod or pair of rods which will dip or cross when you walk over underground water is an odd one. How would this even happen?

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/nov/22/divine-intervention-yes-water-companies-using-dowsing-really-is-that-bad

[rusty quoin]

1. I worked with a guy who was insulted when he suggested it works.

He went to college for art. For as much as I admire artists, I think you need some scientific study too.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. It works,my spouse is far better than I.

Use the rods to find broken Irrigation pipes in our lawn. Fun to watch the rods cross. If you really concentrate,you can feel the rods pull you towards it's target.

Same for Prospecting.

[lastlib]

4. I've used it successfully to find water lines underground.

Don't ask me to explain how two pieces of bent wire coat-hanger can do it, but they did. I am as much into rationalism and science as anybody on earth, but I cannot ignore the evidence of my own experience, either.

[The River]

3. I Worked for Municipal Water Co

I was hired because I could dowse the location of water,
sewer and other utility lines. The professor who taught me
said he didn't know why it worked but it did. A good dowser
doesn't even need a tool to locate the water, bare hands are enough.
I used two metal rods with a 90 degree bend.

Locating leaks is easier with a microphone. The leaks can be very noisy as they erode the surrounding soil.

[Thor_MN]

5. I'll believe it works when a blind person proves it.

It's no different than a Ouija board.

A blind person would not be able to look at the surroundings and think where would I have buried the pipe or see where the sprinkler heads are.

This summer, I dug a well for irrigation and hit ground water at 10 feet down. I did nothing special, as I know that water levels itself due to gravity. If water is on the property, assuming relatively level ground, the water is going to be at the same level everywhere.

[Ptah]

6. Love this sentence from the linked article - - -

If this were the case then you’d expect your kitchen cutlery to end up pointing at the bath you’d just run upstairs. Thus far, there have been no reports of this happening.