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California Farmers Hire "Water Witches" to Find Water
NBC Bay Area ^ | Monday, Mar 3, 2014 | Monday, Mar 3, 2014

Posted on 03/03/2014 11:27:28 AM PST by nickcarraway

With California in the grips of drought, farmers throughout the state are using a mysterious and some say foolhardy tool for locating underground water: dowsers, or water witches.

Practitioners of dowsing use rudimentary tools - usually copper sticks or wooden "divining rods" that resemble large wishbones - and what they describe as a natural energy to find water or minerals hidden deep underground.

While both state and federal water scientists disapprove of dowsing, California "witchers" are busy as farmers seek to drill more groundwater wells due to the state's record drought that persists despite recent rain.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcbayarea.com ...


TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Local News
KEYWORDS: agriculture; california; dowsers; dowsing; neviesticks; stevienicks
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1 posted on 03/03/2014 11:27:28 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

A monkey throwing darts at a survey map will be as accurate as a dowser.


2 posted on 03/03/2014 11:31:58 AM PST by fso301
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To: fso301
I reckon it depends on the dowser. One I knew of surveyed 4 oil drilling sites and correctly picked the two which would make wells (as later borne out by drilling and testing) and even identified the depth of the unusual stratum which would make one well a producer.

The results were not what was anticipated from the geology of the area.

I won't discount the possibility that there may be some out there who are effective.

Hopefully, no one is spending enough money to attract the outright charlatans and con artists.

3 posted on 03/03/2014 11:40:03 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: Smokin' Joe

That’s just baaaad juju. I remember some old testament Jewish Kings who turned to false God’s and reaped heavy punishment.

I hedge my bets on food prices are going up. Way up.


4 posted on 03/03/2014 11:42:09 AM PST by mgist (.)
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To: nickcarraway

It’s all fun and games until someone gets turned into a newt. Even if he does get better.


5 posted on 03/03/2014 11:47:23 AM PST by ZirconEncrustedTweezers (I'm not anti-government, government's anti-me.)
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To: nickcarraway

They have a better change with witching and dowsing than getting ANY WATER from the O admin. The thugocracy wants Americans to starve. It will help encourage more class war fare


6 posted on 03/03/2014 11:47:46 AM PST by Nifster
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To: Smokin' Joe
I reckon it depends on the dowser.

Basically, groundwater is everywhere down below. Any spot identified by a dowser is no better than any other spot in the surrounding area.

7 posted on 03/03/2014 11:49:53 AM PST by fso301
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To: nickcarraway

I saw an old man witch-up a well for a nursery in Fayetteville Arkansas back in the early 70s. He had a forked twig and walked all over a field and then marked a spot and said the water would be about 40 feet down. The next week they drilled and at a little less than 40 feet they hit water. Went by there a few years ago and it’s an apartment complex now.


8 posted on 03/03/2014 11:52:21 AM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: fella

I’ll send my girlfriend out there. Oh wait. She’s just a witch, no water.


9 posted on 03/03/2014 11:55:11 AM PST by Safetgiver ( Islam makes barbarism look genteel.)
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To: nickcarraway

Which one...Pelosi or Boxer?


10 posted on 03/03/2014 11:56:45 AM PST by moovova
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11 posted on 03/03/2014 11:57:39 AM PST by RedMDer (May we always be happy and may our enemies always know it. - Sarah Palin, 10-18-2010)
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To: nickcarraway

12 posted on 03/03/2014 12:05:52 PM PST by BigEdLB (Now there ARE 1,000,000 regrets - but it may be too late.)
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To: nickcarraway

A lack of water can do that to the human mind.


13 posted on 03/03/2014 12:16:20 PM PST by Durbin
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To: nickcarraway
Back in the day, neighbors would ask my dad to help them find water.

In my own memory, I can recall at least four times he directed them to dig in a specific area, and they found water.

14 posted on 03/03/2014 12:23:32 PM PST by mware
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To: nickcarraway

My grandfather was a well witcher. For those that are just spouting off...ignorance is bliss. Geologists would come and get grandpa when they couldn’t find water. Gramps would find it and tell them how deep they would have to drill. He could also map the tile in a field. We just had a well drilled. The guy witched it and said that two veins came together at a certain spot. He hit it right on. Depth also.


15 posted on 03/03/2014 12:53:53 PM PST by Pure Country (“I’ve noticed that every person that is for abortion has already been born.” -Ronald Reagan)
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To: Pure Country

My grandfather on mom’s side was requested a lot and he had a good track record finding water. He was also a very devout old school Christian church goer.


16 posted on 03/03/2014 2:43:13 PM PST by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.)
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To: fso301
These (well, to of the four) were oil wells, and long before the Bakken was making oil like it does today. (In fact, the Bakken formation was not the producing formation in either of the wells that produced).

In this region, groundwater may well be everywhere down below, but a distance of 50 or 100 ft. can make the difference between clear, cool, and drinkable water, or some nasty, iron rich low flow stuff. When you are drilling into old river channels for your water source, you hit it right or get lousy results.

In some areas the stratigraphy may be as simple as you say, but in much of the country it is not.

17 posted on 03/03/2014 3:04:02 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: mgist

The guy I saw just had a couple of pieces of bent welding rod. He wasn’t mumbling any spells.


18 posted on 03/03/2014 3:08:17 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: fso301

I had a roommate in college (Univ. of Nebraska) whose dad was a dowser in west Nebraska. Problem is Nebraska sits atop the largest fresh water aquifer in the world.

I remember telling him that the trick would be finding spot without water!!!

http://www.randi.org/library/dowsing/


19 posted on 03/03/2014 5:28:02 PM PST by Mean Daddy
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To: fso301

I saw a dowser hit the sweet spot in a dry landscape once.


20 posted on 03/03/2014 5:47:02 PM PST by Rebelbase (Tagline: optional, printed after your name on post)
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