Page 19 - NCRWA Tarheel Pipeline Spring 2013

Spring 2013 | NCRWA.COM 17
feature
W
Water Witching:
Fact or Fiction?
BY SCARLETT LYNN HOWELL
ater is ubiquitous. Mankind uses water to launch
shuttles into space, extinguish raging fires,
transport billions of dollars in international
cargo thousands of miles, brew our favorite
coffees, and grow life-sustaining crops.
With over half of our bodies being composed
of water, it is no mystery why we are drawn to
it with a force only matched by the sustained
presence of gravity itself. Water is the epitome
of our existence.
Sustained presence, an oxymoron maybe?
Given that the majority of the world’s
population doesn’t have access to an adequate
supply of clean water, perhaps it is. So not only
is mankind drawn, we are also on a continuous
quest for this preserver of life.
One may ask, just how do we find water
where there appears to be none? The answer to
that question could seem like one is trying to
pull a rabbit out of a hat. But to find the answer,
we turned not to a magician at the circus, but to
a witch, a water witcher that is.
The engine of his old red Ford is still
ticking as he hops out of the driver’s seat. On
his way out, he grabs two metal coat hangers
he keeps stowed on the dash beneath some
scattered papers.
Standing as a skyscraper of a man with his
long torso and legs topped by a 10 gallon hat,
Frank Simpson takes on the task of finding
water like a squirrel hunting acorns.
“The first thing I do is determine which
way the water veins are running,” he explains,
adjusting the rods. To do so, Simpson holds
the metal rods loosely in his hands so that they
are parallel to the ground. He keeps his elbows
tucked snug against his sides for support.
You can use a variety of tools to witch for
water. Some people use peach branches or
sticks from willow trees. Simpson prefers
coat hangers for the simple fact that they are
relatively easy to come by.
“Just how do we
find water where
there appears to
be none?”