News
Water Companies Using Divining Rods to Locate Underground Pipes
While we’re blessed these days with all sorts of different technological advancements for a wide range of different industries, it seems that there are some companies out there still using centuries-old techniques to help them in their work… despite the fact that there is no evidence showing that these procedures are actually effective.
Water companies, for example, are apparently still making use of divining rods and a process called dowsing to help them locate pipes underground, Metro reports. This involves using rods in a Y shape and walking over land, with the belief that if the rods move or cross there may be water below.
Sally Le Page, a scientist from Oxford University, said this month (November) that a technician called out to visit her parents’ house used two tent pegs to find the mains pipe on the property.
She got in touch with Severn Trent to find out if they knew one of their employees was using this equipment which is known to be ineffective. The company replied, saying that it found some older methods to be just as good as newer ones, although it also uses drones and satellites to assist it in its work.
After a little bit of investigating, Ms Le Page found that other companies – including Southern Water, Thames Water, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Scottish Water and more – all occasionally use divining rods as well.
She published a post on the Medium website, saying: “Isn’t it a bit silly that big companies are still using magic to do their jobs! Except if they get it wrong, that could mean the difference between an entire town having safe drinking water or not. If they use divining rods to decide that there isn’t a pipe underneath and so it’s safe to dig there, they could rupture the mains water supply for thousands of people.
“Not to mention the cost of sending out a ‘trained’ technician to examine a site for several hours, only to get no valuable information. Money that comes from the UK homeowners who have no choice over which water company to use. Maybe it’s time to leave the magic and divination to Harry Potter.”
Luckily, there are other options available when it comes to locating subterranean water pipes – great news for anyone looking into water leak detection at this time. Because the majority of pipes in a property are hidden away in ceiling or wall cavities, or underground, detection and repair isn’t easy and much of the time leaks aren’t spotted until damage has already been done.
Here at H2O, our service aims to identify the source of any leaks at minimal cost and disruption to your business. We use ground microphones to detect leaks, as well as leak noise correlation and tracer gas techniques so if you do think you might have a problem, get in touch with us today to see how we can help. No divining rods here, we promise!
For water leak detection call H20 Building services on 01924 387 873 or email info@h2obuildingservices.co.uk