Most UK water companies have abandoned the scientifically discredited method of dowsing to find leaks, but Thames Water and Severn Trent Water say they still use it. increase
environment
January 27, 2023
Some water engineers in the UK still use divining sticks to track leaks Alex Ramsay/Alamy
Thames Water and Severn Trent Water use dowsing rods to detect leaks, but scientific studies have shown this method to be ineffective.
A 2017 study found that 10 out of 12 water companies routinely use dowsing to detect leaks, and some scholars suggested that regulators could use it at their customers’ expense. Criticism arose that we should intervene to prevent the practice of “witchcraft”.
new scientist More than five years later, most of the 19…
