Meet the Water Witches of California

Good morning.

I archetypal heard astir the occult signifier of h2o divining successful Australia.

There, overmuch similar successful California, heat, drought and wildfires ravage the landscape. In the country’s astir caller drought, farmers contended with shrinking aquifers and drying-up rivers, portion cities came adjacent to moving retired of water. The impacts of clime alteration wreaked havoc connected the environment, threatening Australia’s precise way of life.

These similarities were wide aft I arrived successful America past month, lone to beryllium met with a blistering vigor question crossed the Western United States that melted roads and obliterated previous vigor records. In Sonoma County, the portion wherever I live, farmers’ taps are being switched off, and vintners are digging ever deeper for water.

The concern is desperate. And I wondered: Who mightiness payment from that desperation?

“I don’t privation to accidental concern is booming, oregon concern is good, but concern is very, very, precise busy,” Augie Guardino, a second-generation well-driller based successful Santa Clara County told me. “When concern is bully for us, it’s not bully for the remainder of the community.”

He’s “similar to a mortician,” helium said.

Likewise, Rob Thompson said helium was swamped.

“This is my busiest I deliberation I’ve ever been successful my life,” helium said. Thompson 53, is simply a h2o diviner, oregon a h2o witch: He says helium tin find groundwater successful the fractures of the earth’s bedrock, utilizing conscionable 2 rods and a hunch.

The method is thought to person travel into vogue successful the Middle Ages successful Europe, and is “totally without technological merit,” according to the National Ground Water Association, a radical of experts, including hydrogeologists, that promotes liable h2o use.

But that has not stopped farmers and onshore managers from hiring Thompson, a second-generation h2o diviner based successful Santa Rosa, who formerly co-owned 1 of Northern California’s largest well-drilling companies and claims to person recovered thousands of groundwater sites crossed the state.

Just a two-hour thrust from the nation’s exertion superior of Silicon Valley, immoderate vineyards proceed to thin connected Thompson’s work.

“I haven’t ever utilized a geologist to find water,” said Johnnie White, the operations manager of Piña Vineyard Management, which runs dozens of vineyards successful Napa Valley. Still, White acknowledged, “I find it each precise far-fetched.”

Last week, I spent the time with Thompson astatine 1 of those vineyards, which was burned successful past year’s wildfires, and is flanked by scorched hills and charcoal trees. Now, the vineyard’s wells are going dry.

“It’s a disaster,” said Davie Piña, the proprietor of the vineyard absorption company, arsenic helium stood connected the cracking earth. “Just what we need,” helium added, “after different disaster.”

For more:

• Read the afloat nonfiction astir California’s h2o witches.

• Follow live updates from the wildfires burning crossed the West.

• Harvey Weinstein was transferred to Los Angeles connected Tuesday to look rape and intersexual battle charges. If convicted, helium would service immoderate resulting condemnation successful California aft finishing retired his situation word successful New York.

• On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom demurred erstwhile asked whether helium mightiness enforce a caller statewide disguise mandate. He stressed the value of vaccinations instead, arsenic Covid-19 cases proceed to emergence crossed the state, The Fresno Bee reports.

• Smoke from fires burning successful the Western United States and Canada made its mode to the East Coast, contributing to the quality of a reddish sun and wellness warnings.

• In Needles, Calif., 5,000 residents are reliant connected 1 h2o well that meets authorities h2o prime standards, The Los Angeles Times reports. The city, which borders Arizona, is 1 of America’s hottest, with temperatures exceeding 120 degrees.

• Record levels of h2o thievery are being reported crossed California during the ongoing drought. CalMatters reports that 1 of the main culprits is amerciable marijuana farms. Law enforcement officials says it’s hard to prosecute h2o theft for amerciable grows.