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   Steve Melody on 02/08/2025 at 9:48 pm

   It is with great interest that I read your take on water diviners. I am a professional diviner operating in south east Queensland where I locate underground water in unconfined and fractured rock aquifers. My rate of success over 43 years experience exceeds 99%. I work for several water drillers and get very busy during times of drought when I am hardly ever home. I also run water divining courses at 3 levels. Attached below is what I teach. I though you may be interested in the content of the article.
   Regards.
   Steve Melody.

   WHAT LEVEL OF DOWSING COMPETENCE IS REQUIRED FOR A DOWSER TO BE ABLE TO RECOMMEND A DRILL SITE RESULTING IN A HIGH PROBABILITY OF DRILLING SUCCESS? Author Steve Melody B. Applied Science (Hons); professional dowser.

   Introduction.

   There are many benefits for landholders to have a flowing bore on their property. In countries like Australia that can have irregular or low rainfall, a bore can droughtproof a farming business. A guaranteed water supply is critical to the long-term viability and productivity of perennial crops and livestock breeding operations. Urban residents can benefit by having a low-cost year-round independent supply of free water and they are not subject to water restrictions during dry periods. When landholders use bore water rather than surface water, there is less strain on the environment. Many underground water sources also contain dissolved minerals that are beneficial for livestock, crops and humans. Because of all these advantages, having a bore with a high flow rate of good quality water that continues to flow during droughts can significantly increase the value of your property.
   Establishing a bore on your property can be an expensive business and should be seen as a long-term investment because of the high upfront costs. Getting a test hole drilled on your land to see if you have any underground water, if the flow rate is high enough, and if the quality of the water is suitable for its intended purpose costs around A$150/m. With the average depth of a non-artesian bore being around 40m, this brings the cost to A$6 000 just to find out if it is worth proceeding with establishing a bore where the total cost of reaming out the hole and getting it cased is around A$240/m. This would then cost the landholder around A$10 000. Artesian bores are drilled to a much greater depth and cost an absolute fortune to establish.
   Where there is underground water on a property, the distribution of the water is rarely uniform. Bores can produce no water, just a trickle or a substantial flow from a high permeability source. The flow rate depends on the characteristics of the subterranean structures where the water is trapped.
   It is critical for water dowsers to exhibit responsible attitudes when dowsing a property as they must never be reckless with the client’s money since an error in judgement could prove to be very costly for the landholder. For this reason, water drillers and landholders need to enlist the services of competent dowsers who have proven track records. Many people think that finding a suitable drill site is as easy as getting two pieces of wire, bending them into an L shape, walking over the field with the wires in their hands until the wires cross, marking the spot, and then calling in the driller. Dowsing that will result in the best outcome for the landholder is far more time-consuming, complex and demanding than this, and requires a great deal of knowledge, skill, and good judgement on the part of the dowser. Every job a dowser goes to is different and requires the dowser to be able to think on their feet. The question is, when does a student of dowsing reach a level of proficiency that will result in a high probability of drilling success on their selected drill sites?
   Unfortunately, there are no universities or colleges (except in Russia) that offer water dowsing courses that would give a student a recognized qualification. This is largely because water dowsing is yet to be scientifically proven as a reliable mechanism for locating underground water since the scientific community has been lax in conducting valid experiments to determine its efficacy.
   In the United Kingdom, The British Society of Dowsers offers dowsing courses from 1 to 3 days long to train new dowsing recruits. There are learning opportunities offered by some dowsing societies in a couple of states of Australia. If you can’t access these training courses and you want to learn the skill of dowsing, you basically teach yourself or find a competent dowser who is prepared to teach you what they know on an ad hock basis. I live in Queensland where there is no dowsing society and a continually declining pool of proficient dowsers to pass on their knowledge to newcomers. As a response to this shortfall, I offer dowsing courses on my 80-acre property and surrounds at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. I have a set curriculum, and students need to be proficient at lower levels before progressing to the next level. Listed below are the objectives that dowsers need to demonstrate competence in for each level. (Please note. These objectives relate to the geological conditions in south-east Queensland to the east of the Great Dividing Range and may not suit other parts of the world. The recommended dowsing instrument is a single 10-gauge wire dowsing rod with the handle bent at 45 degrees.)
   Beginner Level Course
   The student: –
   1. selects, purchases or constructs a suitable dowsing rod that, when held loosely, does not blow around in the wind.
   2. holds the rod in a way that allows for its easy movement through an angle of 90 degrees.
   3. demonstrates holding the rod in the search position, with the elbow tucked into the side, and the shank of the rod held horizontally and directly to the front.
   4. walks with the rod maintained in the search position at an appropriate speed.
   5. establishes repeatable rod movements to yes and no answers.
   6. asks appropriate questions that are specific and unambiguous.
   7. Given a location that has a flowing bore drilled into a fractured rock aquifer (underground stream): – walks around the bore about 1m from it and locates the edge of the underground stream with the rod moving through 90 degrees; after marking this edge, slowly walks across the stream and maintains the dowsing reaction until the rod returns to the search position on the other side of the stream by moving back through 90 degrees; repeats this process on the other side of the bore to determine the precise location of the stream on that side of the bore.
   8. discriminates between a soak zone and an underground stream; determines if a soak zone of finely fractured rock exists on one or both sides of the stream and marks its edges on the ground.
   9. determines if there is more than one stream under the bore by asking appropriate questions and conducting an appropriate test: – if present, locates the position of any additional stream(s).
   10. shows in which direction water will flow through the stream by pointing with their finger or the rod.
   11. walking along the center of a stream, tracks its path with the rod in the search position by following the movement of the tip of the rod.
   12. Given a location that has a flowing bore drilled into an aquifer: – walks around the bore about 1m from it and registers a continuous dowsing reaction.
   13. determines if the bore in point 12 above has been drilled into a fracture zone (fractured rock aquifer) within the aquifer and determines the stream boundaries.
   14. walks away from the bore and determines the location of the edge of the aquifer (for smaller aquifers), then follows this edge for some distance.
   15. Given a topographic map of a region containing the property to be dowsed: – selects suitable areas where water may be found in aquifers, soaks, or fractured rock aquifers; correctly explains the reasoning behind their choice.
   16. Given a large field with surface undulations, hills, valleys and ridge lines: – identifies the most suitable location to start searching for underground water.
   17. identifies the best starting point where the search should begin and in which direction the dowser should walk after reaching this point.
   18. starting at their selected start point and direction of travel, locates an underground stream that has been identified by a competent dowser but the location of which is not known to the student.

   Students who are proficient at the beginner level of the course do not yet have enough knowledge or skills to be able to select drill sites that are not going to be checked by a proficient dowser before the site is drilled. I recommend that they continue practicing their skills and enhancing their knowledge base working both individually and under the direction of a proficient dowser. They should not charge a fee for dowsing a prospective drill site.

   Intermediate Level Course

   The student: –

   1. has demonstrated competence in each of the 18 objectives listed above.
   2. finds the center of a known underground stream, straddles this with their feet, follows the stream and uses their hands to show the changes in the width of the stream; detects any location where a streamlet branches off from the core stream.
   3. where an underground stream has split into multiple streamlets, follows these and locates the point where all the streamlets recombine into a single stream.
   4. determines an estimate of the depth to the top of the stream using at least 2 methods.
   5. determines an estimate of the depth to the base of the stream using at least 2 methods.
   6. locates the terminal end of the stream if it exists within the property boundary.
   7. locates any aquifers within the property boundary that supply the stream with water and detects the birthplace of the stream within this aquifer if it is accessible.
   8. estimates the size of the aquifer if physically possible and identifies the catchment area that supplies the aquifer with water. This may involve consulting the topographic map described above; makes good judgements about the potential sustainability of water supply from this aquifer during dry times.
   9. Given computer and internet access: – finds the location of a property on Google Maps, the address of which has been provided by the teacher.
   10. loads the Queensland Business website by typing in Registered Water Bores in Queensland; navigates the site to load a map of Queensland showing where bores have been drilled.
   11. on the map, discriminates between artesian, non-artesian and monitoring bore symbols; discriminates between wet bores and dry (failed) bore symbols.
   12. locates the property in point 9 above and property boundaries on the Queensland Business website.
   13. locates the position of bores already drilled on the property and any nearby properties and records their bore identification numbers.
   14. uses these bore identification numbers to assess information about the bores including bore depth, depth where water was first encountered, number of streams encountered, flow rate in L/s, rock type that the water flows in, and water quality parameters including water conductivity; for bores drilled into aquifers, determines aquifer characteristics; where comprehensive water analyses have been conducted on water samples from these bores, identifies any potential problem areas including high sodium, iron and manganese levels; accesses and interprets historical bore records for monitoring bores including flow rates and changes in water quality and water table height in different seasons.
   15. Given a property where a dry bore(s) has been drilled in the past but not cased – determines if the bore site had been selected over an underground stream or over an aquifer, or soak; if drilled into a stream, follows the stream in both directions from the drill site up to the property boundary or terminal end of the stream and marks the stream’s location on a map of the property. This is particularly important if the driller struck water that was too salty to use for its intended purpose; determines if the aquifer supplying the salty stream is on the property being dowsed and marks its position on the map of the property.
   16. Given a property where there is an existing wet bore, but the landholder requires the drilling of an additional bore(s), repeats the process in point 15 above and marks the stream and aquifer locations on a map of the property.
   17. Given a property with a natural watercourse, determines the riparian zone of the watercourse; seeks local knowledge about maximum flood heights in past floods on the property and marks these boundaries on the property map.
   18. Given access to a property that a competent dowser has determined to contain underground water:-
   the dowser uses all available information described above to select a suitable drill site. This site should not be within the riparian zone and must be above the highest known flood height.
   The site must be accessible for the drill rig which is often a large and heavy vehicle.
   The drill site should not be selected on land that has too steep a slope thus allowing ease of working for the driller.
   It should also be an adequate distance from the boundary fence, particularly if this is made of barbed wire thus allowing for adequate working space for the drilling team to work safely.
   Where there has been a bore drilled on a salty stream on the property in the past and then abandoned, the selected drill site must not be located on this stream. It must also not be located on any other stream emanating from an aquifer that the dowser has determined to contain salty water including the one supplying water to this stream.
   Where there is an existing wet bore on the property drilled into a stream, the new drill site should not be selected over the same stream that has already been drilled unless no other superior sites can be found.
   The selected site should not be located within the bounds of any local or state government easements located on the property.
   To prevent an electrocution incident, the drill site must not be located under overhead power lines or within 25 m of power lines.
   It must also not be sited over buried utilities like water pipes, phone lines, electricity cables, sewage pipes or gas lines.
   For health reasons, the site must not be selected over the rubble trench of a domestic septic system and should be selected at a land height which is above the rubble trench and not below it.
   The site should be away from large trees as tree roots can interfere with the drilling process and overhanging branches can get tangled in the drill rig boom or prevent its vertical erection.
   The selected site should be on land preferably away from a gazetted road bounding the property that may be subject to resumption by local councils or state governments in the future.
   The selected drill site needs to be over an underground stream that has adequate width to allow the driller to intersect it. Due consideration must be given to the depth the driller has to drill to strike the stream. Deeper streams need to be as wide as possible. The highest flow rates are achieved from bores sited close to the aquifer supplying them with water where the water pressure is the highest. Stream width here is usually the widest available.
   The drill site should not be selected close to or at the terminal end of a stream where the flow rate will be diminished and the stream width declines making it more difficult for the driller to strike it. This point will most likely be at the most elevated level of the stream and will be the first point to run dry as water levels in aquifers supplying streams decline during dry times when the water is most needed.
   Where an underground stream has divided into streamlets, the selected drill site should not be placed over a streamlet, rather at a location where these streamlets have recombined into a single stream.
   Where the drill site is selected within an aquifer, a deep point has been selected or one that is over a stream within the aquifer.
   Where the drill site is over a soak on a property where no other water is available, the lowest point of water accumulation has been selected.
   The dowser uses data available on the Queensland Business website (described above) to effectively assist in their decision-making process.
   The dowser weighs up all the data they have collected on the property and from nearby properties via the internet to make well-reasoned judgements on the probability of driller success at a level that meets the landholder’s water requirements. This may involve the dowser recommending that the landholder avoids drilling if there is a very high risk that any bore drilled will be a dry bore due to inadequate water flow particularly during drought periods, there is a risk the driller could miss the stream, or the water quality is likely to be inferior for its intended use.
   If the dowser has decided that it could be worthwhile drilling a test hole on the property, they provide the landholder with an estimation of driller success by ranking the bore as low, medium, or high risk with all potential risks being explained to the landholder. An estimate of bore depth is also provided to allow the landholder to budget. The dowser provides the landholder with a number of potential drill locations allowing them to choose one that best satisfies their needs.

   Students who have demonstrated proficiency at the intermediate level of the course have enough knowledge and skills to be able to select drill sites that can be drilled with a rate of success of at least 80%. However, it is highly recommended that the drill sites are checked by at least one other competent dowser before drilling occurs. I recommend that they continue practicing their dowsing skills and further enhance their knowledge and skill base working both individually and collaboratively with another proficient dowser. It is acceptable for them to charge a fee for dowsing a prospective drill site.

   Advanced Level Course.

   Dowsing students may progress to this course level when they have demonstrated competence in both the beginner and intermediate level courses and have achieved dowsing success in the field setting.

   This higher-level course is designed to develop the dowser’s intuition and may not suit some dowsers. It contains objectives that are the most difficult to master and competence is only achieved after much practice.

   Given the address of the property to be dowsed, the student:-

   1. locates the property on Google Maps and then the property boundaries on the Queensland Business website on their computer.
   2. observing the map, determines through yes and no responses if there are any streams and/or aquifers within the property boundaries.
   3. if there is a yes response for the presence of streams and initially working around the boundary of the property with a pen, determines if any underground streams cross the property boundary, discriminating between streams likely able to contain enough water that could be drilled while ignoring narrow cracks that would not be worth drilling; tracks these streams in both directions and accurately marks their full lengths on a map of the property that has wide margins beyond the property boundaries.
   4. If no streams are detected around the property boundary, systematically searches within the property boundary for any suitable streams, and if present, marks these on the property map.
   5. determines the direction of water flow in the streams and locates the terminal end of each stream, which may be beyond the property boundary and marks these on the map. (a larger scale map may need to be printed if the streams are long.)
   6. follows each stream to its source which is most likely an aquifer; finds the aquifer and marks its outer boundaries on the map. Where there is no aquifer supplying a stream with water, marks this stream to show it is not to be drilled as it would quickly run out of water if a pump was installed in a bore drilled on the stream. (The dowser could put stokes across the steam or overcolor it with a highlighter pen to make it stand out from potentially drillable streams.)
   7. checks if any dry bores have been drilled on the property and investigates why they may be dry. If it was because the salt level was too high, follows the stream the bore was drilled on to the aquifer suppling it with water and marks this stream and the aquifer as they have done in point 6 above; checks if there were any dry bores drilled on neighboring properties and determines which aquifer supplied those bores with water; as before, marks any stream drawn on the map within the property boundary that sources water from these salty aquifers in an appropriate manner.
   8. for each remaining stream, determines where the current water location along the stream is and at the time the satellite photo of the property was taken and marks these locations on the map(s).
   9. using an outstretched aim as a guide, and starting at the aquifer, determines the approximate angle of elevation of each section of streams and marks these on the map. Eg the first leg of the stream may be horizontal and then gradually rises at an angle of 10 to 15 degrees. The stream may fall (a rare scenario), be close to horizontal for its entire length or it could rise more sharply beginning at the aquifer and reach its highest elevation at its terminal end. It could start with a gentle upward slope before progressing to an increasing slope further along the stream; where there is only one stream on a property to access and it is upwardly sloping and the water is not currently at its terminal end and/or has been shown in the past to retreat towards the aquifer, selects a drill site as close as practicable to the aquifer.
   10. uses their hands to show the width of each stream at various locations along the stream and annotates the map accordingly; estimates the depth of these streams.
   11. If there is more than one drillable stream available, chooses the one that will provide the best outcome for the landholder while being suitable for the driller to be able to drill; marks suitable drill locations along this stream based on the criteria in point 18 of the intermediate course; records GPS coordinates for each location on the map.
   12. If there are no streams within the property boundary, but there is an accessible aquifer, marks the aquifer boundaries on the property map and chooses a suitable drill location and marks this on the map.
   13. If there are no streams or aquifers on the property, searches for any soaks that may underly water courses or low-lying ground and if found, marks their boundary on the map; chooses an appropriate drill location within the soak and marks this on the map.
   14. analyses and evaluates all the data obtained through the map dowsing process described above along with data available from the internet to decide if it warrants proceeding with a drilling program with key aspects to consider being potential flow rate of the bore, potential water quality, probability that the driller can strike the stream, probable reliability of water availability during periods of drought based on the slope of the underground stream, water catchment area for the aquifer supplying the stream with water, aquifer size, historical rainfall records, and drawdown of water from the aquifer by neighboring properties which obtain water from the aquifer; allocates a risk rating for the drilling program and longer-term viability of the bore (low, medium, high, or very high risk.)
   15. contacts the landholder and reveals their findings and recommendations; discusses with the landholder if they would like a field visit to further investigate the situation.
   16. where the landholder agrees to a field visit, takes a fully annotated copy of the map they have generated from map dowsing and internet searchers and explains their proposal to the landholder.
   17. using a dowsing instrument, locates the desired stream/aquifer/soak into which the proposed bore is to be drilled (the actual underground water source should be within 1 yard of where it is marked on the map.)
   18. observing topographical features on the ground and matching these with features on the map, locates the selected drill site; where the property is extensive or has a featureless terrain, locates the selected drill site using the GPS coordinates on their phone; once located, verifies the characteristics of the site determined earlier and ensures it is the most suitable drill site for all concerned parties; offers alternative sites and allows the landholder to choose which site best suits their needs; once selected, marks the precise drill site with a star picket driven into the ground; on cattle properties, surrounds this with logs/timber as cattle tend to rub themselves on site markers and the site may otherwise be lost.
   19. discusses all potential risks with the landholder and provides them with an estimate of the depth to which the bore will need to be drilled.
   20. leaves the landholder with a copy of the map to be used as a reference in future times by the driller, new landholders, and other water dowsers.(Figure 1 below).
   Students who have demonstrated proficiency at the advanced level of the course have enough knowledge and skills to be able to select drill sites that can be drilled with a rate of success of at least 95%. However, it is highly recommended that the drill sites are still checked by at least one other competent dowser before drilling occurs. I recommend that they continue practicing their dowsing skills and further enhance their knowledge and skill base working both individually and collaboratively with another dowser proficient at the advanced level. It is acceptable for them to charge a fee for dowsing a prospective drill site and a small fee for conducting research on the property but advising the client that they have no accessible water on the property or that it would not be worthwhile drilling for water on the property.

   The improved rate of success that dowsers proficient at the advanced level
   have the potential to demonstrate is attributed to the thoroughness of the research they have the ability to perform. It means that these highly sophisticated dowsers can eliminate those high-risk drill sites that are most likely to be dry bores if drilled. This saves the landholder considerable sums of money. Furthermore, the dowser benefits by not having to travel to the property and discover that there is no available water or no suitable drill sites. For larger rural properties exceeding 10 acres, the time spent by the dowser searching for water is significantly reduced. By knowing in advance from a distance where the best drill site is, dowsers can avoid having to look for water in unfavorable conditions like having to search in thick brush, tall grass, or hilly country.

   The greatest benefit to a property owner of utilizing the services of a dowser who is proficient at the advanced level is that they potentially get the best possible outcome available on the property. That outcome is the driller establishing a highly productive bore with good quality water that remains functional under a range of climatic conditions thereby drought proofing their property and adding significantly to its value.

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