Looking for water in unconventional ways

Using all their senses and perhaps a few extra ones, a duo is continuing the ancient art of dowsing for water.  Larry McKelvey and Dan Lewis from Boston, Virginia, have been dowsing for 20 years and claim they haven’t missed a good stream of water yet.

Last year, they were even summoned to Montpelier, estate of former president James Madison, to help with the placement of a well for a new dormitory building.
 

When he got a firsthand look at dowsing around 1990, Larry McKelvey, who lives in western Culpeper County, acknowledges that he was skeptical too: “I saw a fellow out there he was doing it. I said, ‘That’s a bunch of baloney.’”
 

But after talking some more and giving it a try himself, Larry changed his tune.
 

Basically, dowsing works like this: A metal rod or forked tree branch is used to help determine the location and flow of underground water currents. The energy of the water and the elements it contains cause a tug on the rod. The information is then used to help visualize the currents, which may be hundreds of feet underneath rocky soil.
 

According to the American Society of Dowsers website, dowsers.org, the art has been practiced for thousands of years all over the world.
 

Historical Greek records refer to dowsing, which was widely used on the Island of Crete around 400 B.C. Researchers also point to many Bible passages that allude to dowsing, including scriptures that detail how Moses and his son Aaron used a dowsing-like rod to locate and bring forth water.
 

German miners in the 1400s also used dowsing techniques to locate mineral ore. The technique was also frequently used in America before the advent of modern technology.
McKelvey prefers to use ordinary wire coat hangers that have been straightened, while Dan Lewis, who lives in Rappahannock County, makes copper rods for the same purpose.
 

The ASD defines dowsing as “the exercise of a human faculty which allows one to obtain information in a manner beyond the scope and power of the standard human physical senses of sight, sound and touch.”
 

Faith and senses aside, both men point to dozens of successful dowses all over the region. Dan said one woman even stopped him about 15 years later to tell him that her well was still going strong.
 

In fact, so is the well at Larry McKelvey’s Boston-area home. He dowsed it himself.
 

Both men also acknowledged that there’s an element of mystery and faith that science hasn’t been able to fully explain. “There’s a lot of stuff we still don’t understand,” said Lewis.
 

Neither has made dowsing a career, though. Dan runs an antique store in Sperryville and is also a licensed massage therapist. Larry retired from the State Department after a 30-year career. These days, he keeps busy playing with the Stoneridge Bluegrass Band.
 

Dowsing isn’t just useful for locating water. In one case, Lewis recalled how they used their skills to help an acquaintance locate a failing septic tank in their yard.
 

The home was about 30 years old, and the exact location of the tank was lost to time. Frustrated, the homeowner began digging a trench from the house to try and trace the main pipe to the tank. They had all but given up, but Dan and Larry were able to find it.
 

“I think it’s all just a matter of faith,” Dan said.
 
How dowsing works
A metal rod or forked tree branch is used to help determine the location and flow of underground water currents. The energy of the water and the elements it contains cause a tug on the rod. The information is then used to help visualize the currents, which may be hundreds of feet underneath rocky soil.

Based on report in Star Exponent by Nate Delesine, October 30, 2010

http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2010/oct/30/looking-water-unconventional-ways-ar-618002/