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Volume 9: Number 2: Article 1
Unconventional Water Detection: Field Test of the Dowsing Technique in Dry Zones: Part 2
Hans-Dieter Betz, Dept. of Physics, am Coulombwall 1, University
of Munich, D85748 Garching, Germany
This report presents new insights into an unconventional option of
locating water reserves which relies on water dowsing. The effectiveness
of this method is still rightly disputed. Now, however, extensive field
studies — in line with provable and reliable historic accounts — have
shown that a few carefully selected dowsers are certainly able to detect
faults, fissures and fractures with relative alacrity and surprising
accuracy in areas with, say, crystalline or limestone bedrock. A series
of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) projects
involving this technique were carried out in dry zones with unexpectedly
high rates of success. In particular, it was possible to locate a large
number of relatively small underground aquifers in thinly populated
areas and to drill wells at the sites where water is needed; the yields
were low but sufficient for hand-pump operation throughout the year.
Finding or locating a sufficient number of relatively small fracture
zones using conventional techniques would have required a far greater
work input.
The relevance of the method used was tested under various aspects.
On the one hand, project areas with different geological characteristics
were chosen and, on the other hand, the relevant circumstances and project
results were carefully examined by geology experts. So far, neither
critical consideration of all possible objections nor attempts at reasoning
have yielded a conventional explanation for the persistent success of
the dowsing technique — an outcome which has been corroborated by a
number of specifically designed control experiments and comparative
tests. The trend of the reported findings is concordant with that exhibited
by the findings from recent scientific research carried out, for example,
by a Swedish geological institution and universities in Munich. Provided
that certain conditions are met, the results obtained show the dowsing
technique to be a serious alternative for ground-water prospecting.
It can thus be concluded from these present experiences that the effectiveness
of locating ground water in certain hydrogeological situations could
be raised significantly if conventionally organized operating teams
were to make additional use of appropriately tested and selected dowsers
in order to pinpoint drilling spots. Along these lines, a model of integration,
which has already been tested on a pilot scale in some of the GTZ projects
presented herein, is discussed and proposed for future provisional use.
The high success rates described in this report suggest the design of
specific tests for future use which may contribute to a scientific clarification
of the dowsing phenomenon. At the same time, there is the possibility
of an especially useful transfer of practical knowledge concerning water-resource
development. Finally, due to its biophysical background the issue might
be of importance to bionics; further treatment should aim at technical
simulation of the proven — albeit unexplained — effects of the dowsers
in order to create new and more effective measuring procedures.
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