Finding Water

mickey1985

Have been drilling for water and have drilled 3 holes on farm one to 420ft and still have found no water. Just wondering has anyone had difficulty themselves finding water and how did they find it after. Iv heard that they can judge it from maps if anyone has done this be greatful of a contact

Cavanjack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058238719/finding-water

Talk to your neighbour’s and see how far the went. Have heard of over 500foot before hitting water

ruwithme

Have one here 360 foot deep & 90 foot of steel liner in her to the rock, dry as snuff she was,

Went down the field a bit to where the old boys pounded the original one & got the supply needed there.

You might, n mention a water diviner to a well driller nowadays.

Still stihl waters 3

420 doesn't seem deep, I've heard of Wells around here 500 plus so you could gave to go deeper

Friend of mine found water at 600 ft,but was gravely(??) so kept going and went to circa 1300 feet

We were making out its below sea level (his place is on the cliffs)

9935452

The uncle went to 900ft in the midlands

50HX

+1 on the diviner

Diviner will find water but won't be able to tell you how deep.... only way to go

Good loser

Diviner a complete and utter waste of money.

ruwithme

Ah, " ye of little faith " had a local man here 20 years ago with the metal clothes hanger & she sprang up from a dropped vertical position & hit him on the tip of his nose on her way to upright when he passed over the vein of water.

Good loser

Hoc ergo propter hoc.

After, therefore because - a fallacy.

kk_man

Same story here as you Mickey. Went to 500ft in 1 and 350 in another after it being devined. Nothing but dust. Driller put me on to a guy that did a survey of the whole farm with some apparatus and when finished produced a map showing where water is on the farm. Where we drilled was completely dry. And any land that side of the farm was dry. The other side had all the water. Drilled following year an d got water at 70ft but unfortunately got dirty anytime we had heavy rain. Drilled again away from that well but got a poor supply as the map showed but driller said it,d be ok. Drilled again at our bounds, followed the map which showed good water and drilled to 170 and have a great supply. Cost 600 euro for survey but wouldnt have water without it. Be very careful with diviners. Water is a huge problem when you cant get a good supply.

Furze99

I think there's a site/ map resource somewhere that estimates areas where this is good accessible groundwater and other parts where trouble is to be had. But even then it can depend on your local geology within a matter of a few hundred yards like round here.

We had diviner for one well, it was bored to about 200ft and then deepened again by another 150ft and never had a satisfactory supply.

Other lad came and had a look with a piece of metal, says I'll drill there - so I cleared the spot. When his rig came round, he couldn't reach it and just drilled where it was handy. I says will you get water there and he says we'll keep going till we do! And sure enough he eventually hit a decent spring/ crack with water, and this current well is c450ft. So all a bit hit & miss as far as I can see.

Which advice is no good to you and I can only know that getting water from a bore well in some places is one of the mysteries of life!

Furze99

"Iv heard that they can judge it from maps if anyone has done this be greatful of a contact"

I've heard this too - apparently you send the diviner a map of your farm in the post and he or she uses a pendulum or some yoke over the map and it settles on where you should drill. I'd never completely doubt any sort of folklore as there must be some basis in it, but this sounds very unlikely!!

K.G.

Water is a big problem from us and always has been tried a couple of diviners and while they did find supplies not at sufficient flow rate.i ve come to the conclusion we need a number of sources to get enough,currently at 3 and putting in place a fourth at the moment.try and look for clues yourself and generally under hills have higher supply s.funnily enough walk the land during the winter, springs surface during the winter would still be underground during the summer.in general most Wells around here yield around 1000gls give or take at peak summer water lows

Mine is 30m deep. Im half way up a mountain with a bog at the top.

A lot of iron in the water and have a filtration system in.

CreadanLady

Hire a hydrogeologist to assess your land for where a well might be best placed.

Don't mind all this water diviner crap. Another thing to be mindful of is the cost of pumping water up 1000 ft out of a well. That is a lot of energy to have to put in, and costs a lot. You might find water in one place, but you might be able to get it easier for less pumping cost somewhere else.

I'd rather pay good money for a few hours with a hydrogeologist than a fella that knows a fella that swears he'll divine water with the underwire from his granny's bra.

I'd take the wisdom of the drillers with a pinch of salt - being paid by the meter, it is in their interests that your well has to be drilled as deep as possible and therefore they might be knowingly leading you on wild goose chases drilling here and there knowing that they will not get water, but they will give it to you on the 4th hole drilled after their friend of a friend diviner guru waves his pendulum over a crusty old map.

It's up there with witch doctoring and shamanism. The only gift water diviners have is an engrained delusion. Either that or they are deliberate scammers preying on the superstition and ignorance of those who do not know any better.

I could go water divinging in the morning - the chances are, with a little knowledge and experience, i would be successful some of the time at least. Afterall, a good portion of the bedrock is an aquifer or one type or another.

patsy_mccabe

I can divine but only have it in the right hand. My brother has it in both hands. Just use 2 welding rods bent at 90 deg.

I was amazed I could do it. I could find a water pipe underground. I've done it a few times. My brother has found the run of the mains water going to neighbours houses, going across lawns etc. He has never charged for it. Just does it as a favour. I tried it in then not knowing where he found it and we matched up the same. Dug and there it was.

We had a guy here on a tracked machine one day and he showed us how to do it. Some of you can probably do it. Finding water deep under ground is another matter though.

Odelay

What pressure do ye run the water at? Noticed mine at 7bar and thought that was very high? No big hills to pump up.

50HX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118847664#Comment_118847664

Creadanlady.......You really don't like water diviners then 😀

CreadanLady

It is a pseudoscience. Up there with reiki and those copper wrist bands you see middle aged english men flogging at the ploughing match.

Chances are the lads who devined the water pipe already subconciously had a fair idea where the water pipe was (sure isn't it running in the drive way and under the lawn in most houses anyway), so they were primed to find it in that general area.

If anyone wants to change my mind then link some peer reviewed scientific evidence to the contrary.

K.G.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118850348#Comment_118850348

I don't need to change your mind but based on my practical experience there is something in it.at this stage I could nearly describe myself as an honoury doctorate in hydrology. Water in West cork runs in crack more or less north to south whereas the rock lies semi vertical east to west.you can see this if you line up the springs through the countryside.the trick is to hit the right spot.diviners or hydrological for that matter will help you site the well but it is still an element of lottery that you hit the right spot

Dakota Dan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118844063#Comment_118844063

Only one in five people can’t divine, I had a big argument on here about it around 10 years ago. As usual the people denying it couldn’t be arsed trying it.

50HX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118850348#Comment_118850348

I must have been v lucky then that I got a diviner from another county who never before stood on my land that found 3 springs for me but more importantly found an old now unused water supply that I knew was there and there was no way he could have known beforehand about it

Good loser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118863212#Comment_118863212

It is certainly a pseudoscience. How do you know that everywhere on your land would not have produced 'spring's?. What do you call springs anyway?

My land is at 500 ft and on three occasions got water at 80 ft all within 40 metres of one another. The last well was drilled through the concrete of the farmyard. The well driller was a first class operator and had no time for 'diviners/chancers'. The 'turning of the wires' comes through the activation of involuntary muscles in the palm of the hand. Can happen anywhere anytime.

mahoney_j

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118844063#Comment_118844063

You need to find a good one then ….I e a guy in his 70s and from what I gather he hasn’t failed yet ….old school with the sally rods

50HX

I refer to springs as water that exits up to leave a section of the land wetter than the rest

Not always visible but in wet weather will be noticeably wetter than other sections and yes he divined in dry weather

How did he find the source of an old well if it's involuntary muscle action...pot luck

Anyways you were happy with your well driller and I was happy with my diviner

Out of interest have you ever got it/seen it done?

Good loser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118868178#Comment_118868178

No, I haven't seen it done.

mahoney_j

Anyone advise on a good water drilling company ….am in north tipp area but I’m sure most cover a big area ….currently on a group scheme ….cost not overly prohibitive but it’s creeping up

also thinking of getting a 10 k plus storage tank to have as buffer ….have 3 phase supply so looking for 3 phase pump as well

have a spot picked by diviner …no idea on drilling depth but going on other wells in area anything from 120 to 700 foot .would 10 k worst case see full job done and water flowing

Say my name

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118873603#Comment_118873603

I'd give Mossy o rourke a good name .

A half day and your well is done. I'm not sure if theyd travel to Tipp.

But you've one name there that'd be good at their job. Cost me something a bit over 2k altogether to get water flowing but that must be 4/5 years ago now.

https://www.orourkewelldrilling.ie

chooseusername

After a really bad drought in Late 50s or early 60s a local farmer got a drilling rig in and I’d say the rig stayed around for about 6 months going from farm to farm. The lads working the rig pulled a caravan around from farm to farm and became part of local life.

My father who fancied himself as a diviner was amazed that the rig lads always found water in the yards around the houses right next to a handy power supply and a shed for the pump.