There is undoubtedly a scientific reason why it works.
I and my mother were at an event. There was a man there who divined water in his job. He managed to find the underground pipes (so we were told by a guy who worked at the site.) My mother tried the rods, and they worked for her. I was unsuccessful, though. My mother was a skeptic, but it turned into an "aw, whattheheck - gwan and try it".