Meet the California water witches

Livia Albeck-Ripka

07/23/2021 12:53 PM

• Clarín.com

• The New York Times International Weekly

Updated 07/23/2021 12:54 PM

CALISTOGA, California - In a vineyard surrounded by scorched hills and charred trees, Rob Thompson took two stainless steel rods in his hands, began to spin in a circle, and counted under his breath.

Then he said he had found it:

water, hundreds of meters under the arid land.

"This is really good," said Thompson, 53, marking an 'X' on the ground with his shoe.

Rob Thompson, a third-generation "water witch," drives a stake into the ground to indicate the possible location of a well.

Photo Jim Wilson / The New York Times.

"This is deep: 228 meters, 210 to 230 liters per minute."

Thompson is a

dowser.

He claims that he can locate streams of water in crevices in the bedrock, using

two L-shaped rods

that together resemble an old television antenna.

Amid California's extreme drought, just a two-hour drive north of the tech capital of Silicon Valley, the services of this man who relies on two 3-foot rods and a hunch are in demand.

"I've never been this busy in my life," said Thompson, a third-generation water hunter.

His agenda reflects the desperation of ranchers, vineyard owners and land managers as California suffers from a devastating drought that has

depleted aquifers

, depleted crops and forced some farmers to sell their water rights.

The mystical technique of locating new sources of groundwater is believed to have been used for the first time in Europe in the Middle Ages.

The method is known as

dowsing

,

dowsing, or divination

.

And those who practice it are called dowsers or water witches.

The

National Groundwater Association

, a think tank, says that dowsing "lacks any scientific merit."

But some California farmers say it provides a

cheaper

alternative

to traditional methods, like hiring a geologist.

The American Society of Dowsers claims to have about

2,000 members,

several of whom are active “vareros”.

Some claim that they can locate treasures, lost items, aliens, and stress on the body.

Thompson says that when he passes over water,

the energy changes,

causing a muscle contraction that causes his rods to cross.

Fifty of the 58 counties in California are under a drought emergency.

An increase in drilling and dependence on wells has depleted groundwater.

The

waiting list

for a piercer can be several months to a year.

Recently, in Napa Valley, Thompson set out to fetch water from a 60-hectare vineyard with two dry wells.

He placed the rods perpendicular to the ground to "ground," a process that he says helps dissipate their energy.

Then he leaned back and held the rods in front of him, slowly turning until they crossed.

"Yes, it's right here," he said.

His wife drove a stake into the dry ground with a red ribbon and the words "WELL 9".

Thompson carried a GPS device so that he could provide his clients with a topographic map of their water sites.

But his other tools were low-tech: brass and stainless steel rods and a

bullet-shaped

pendulum

dangling from a frayed rope.

"Those Silicon people still hire me," he added.

© 2021 The New York Times

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