Water witching works, commissioner insists

FIELDING, Box Elder County — Box Elder County Commissioner Scott Hansen doesn't believe in witchcraft or sorcery, but he does know that water witching works.

Water witching, sometimes called water dowsing, is an obscure activity that few people claim to fully understand. Explanations of why it works range from scientific discussion about magnetism, electricity and anomalies to discussions of the paranormal and supernatural that are best left to Art Bell to tackle on late-night talk radio.

Hansen tends to lean toward the scientific.

"The world is a magnet," he said referring to the north and south magnetic poles. "The best I understand it is we're out there sensing breaks or variations in magnetism."

Hansen, 68, learned to dowse from an old expert about 15 years ago. His teacher, Merrell Nelson, was one of the best, he said. For example, Nelson helped Hansen locate where a well should be dug on Hansen's property in the northwestern foothills of the Wellsville Mountains. When he found the spot, Nelson told Hansen to dig down 28 feet and he would find water.

Because the arm on the track hoe he was using only reached 24 feet, Nelson burrowed into the hillside a little before digging. He hit the water almost right on.

"When that hoe was fully extended, it was 6 inches below that flow down there," Hansen said.

Dowsing is done by holding a bent metal wire in your hand, keeping it loose so it can swing easily but balanced well enough that the wind won't move it. As the dowser walks along and comes over a pipe, underground stream or other break in the Earth's magnetic field, the wire swings to the left. As the dowser passes over the top of the object, the polarity reverses and the wire swings to the right and then back straight again, Hansen said.

After helping Hansen find several wells, Nelson suggested Hansen learn to do it on his own and save himself the cost of hiring Nelson. He showed Hansen how it was done, and it was just practice from there.

While beginners walk slowly and carefully, trying to keep the metal wire stable in their hand and watching for a swing to the left, Hansen walks at a normal pace. He has learned to tell when it's just the wind that is moving the wire and when it is being pulled. Nelson, on the other hand, could almost run around the hills looking for water — and got it right most of the time, Hansen said.

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