About Willowstick

The Willowstick Vision: pinpointing the flow of underground water

Willowstick Technologies takes its name from the ancient practice of using the branches of willow trees to locate subsurface water. We have come a long way since those days; satellite locators, handheld computers and other innovative technologies based upon sound physical principles have replaced magical divining rods. But the quest remains largely the same: to pinpoint the precious water lying hidden under our feet.

Willowstick has developed a revolutionary water mapping system called AquaTrack™.

AquaTrack uses the magnetic fields created from electrical current flow to characterize water systems deep beneath the surface of the earth. It then generates maps of those systems, providing invaluable information to those trying to improve their understanding of the local hydrogeology, remediate subsurface pollution, diagnose the problem of reservoir seepage, and more.

Technology Plus Expertise: the AquaTrack System

AquaTrack electrodes are placed anywhere they make direct contact with the groundwater network. This can be through springs, existing wells, or exploratory drill holes. The electrodes then charge the network with a low voltage electrical current. This current will flow through the water, gathering in areas of greatest concentration. As it snakes its way throughout the network—over an area of up to 1,000 acres—its sends out a magnetic message signaling key data about the groundwater, such as its location and shape.

The trick is to accurately capture and analyze that signal. AquaTrack accomplishes this by relying on the transformer theory. This theory holds that when a charged coil is positioned near a second coil, that second coil picks up the emitted magnetic field of the first. The connection of water, wire and electrode forms the first coil; the AquaTrack receiver is designed to serve as the second. True to the transformer theory, the receiver accurately registers the magnetic field of the electrode loop. The field data is then filtered through a series of expertly designed controls, thus ensuring the reliability of the data from which the AquaTrack maps are rendered.

The AquaTrack system incorporates a variety of devices, each carefully selected to play its role and all smoothly incorporated to the whole: Three magnetic sensors, oriented in orthogonal directions, receive the signal. A Campbell Scientific CR1000 data logger collects, filters and processes the sensor data. A Global Positioning System (GPS) instrument locates and maps the field measurements. And a Windows-based, Allegro CE handheld computer couples and stores the GPS data with the magnetic field data. All of this equipment is tightly integrated and mounted on a single surveyor’s pole, which makes its easily portable to even the most remote and inaccessible locations.