Water witching works, commissioner insists

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After finding a source of water, there are ways to tell how deep the source is and how much it will flow. Hansen described a second rod with coils on the end. If he is standing over a known water source and holds that wire firmly in his hand, it will start to bounce after several seconds. By counting how many times the rod bounces he can determine how deep the water is. Then it will stop bouncing and start swinging side to side, and by counting how many oscillations it goes through, Hansen can tell how many gallons per minute flow through that spot.

The rods that Hansen uses are simply bent coat hangers, but they can be made from anything with iron in them that will react to changes in magnetism.

"How those guy know that, I don't know," he said.

"I was the biggest dissenter in the whole world. I just don't believe in witchcraft and all that stuff. But I guarantee you there's something about this that's right, that's all I can say. It saves me a lot of money, and it saves me a lot of time," Hansen said.

Hansen has found water for other people in the past and estimates that he has taught about 100 people how to do it on their own. But that doesn't happen much any more. Seven months after becoming a Box Elder County commissioner, a part-time job that takes up to 60 hours a week, he doesn't even have time to work on the sheep ranch where he lives.

E-MAIL: jrowley@desnews.com