The New England States are regarded as too unpromising to deserve consideration. Most of the northern peninsula of Michigan and the State of Minnesota are placed in the same category. The small quantities allocated to some other States indicate how little hope these geologists have of finding extensive oil fields in them. Some of these very doubtful regions will give no oil, but others will make good the deficiencies. The estimates are as a whole distinctly conservative. Of the total estimated oil reserves of the United States, amounting in round numbers to 9,000,000,000 barrels, 5,000,000,000 barrels may be classified as oil in sight and 4,000,000,000 barrels as prospective and possible. Rather more than 4,000,000,000 barrels should be assigned to the heavy-oil group. These oils will be recovered mainly in the Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, and Gulf States. The contents of the Lima-Indiana region, which yields oil of a distinctive type, are estimated at 40,000,000 barrels. In general, the so-called paraffin oils of moderate and high grade, as contrasted with the heavier oils, amount in all to about 5,000,000,000 barrels. The estimated reserves of high-grade oils of the Appalachian States are about 725,000,000 barrels. The estimated reserves are enough to satisfy the present requirements of the United States for only 20 years, if the oil could be taken out of the ground as fast as it is wanted. Should these estimates fall even so much as 2,000,000,000 barrels short of the actual recovery, that error of 22 per cent would be equivalent to but four years' supply, a relatively short extension of life. However, the committee expressly decries the too frequent assumption that inasmuch as the estimated reserves appear to be sufficient to meet the needs of the country at the present rate of consumption for 20 years, therefore the reserves will be exhausted at the end of that time or, at most, a few years later. This assumption is absolutely misleading, for the oil pools will not all be found that length of time, drilling will be spread over many years, as the pools are found, and the wells can not be pumped dry so quickly. Individual wells will yield oil for more than a quarter of a century and some of the wells will not have been drilled in 1950. In short, the oil can not all be discovered, much less taken from the earth, in 20 years. The United States is already absolutely dependent on foreign countries to eke out her own production, and if the foreign oil can be procured, this dependence is sure to grow greater and greater as our own fields wane, except as artificial patroleum may be produced by the distillation of oil shales and coals, or some substitute for petroleum may be discovered. 99 66 99 66 All the estimates except those for one region, noted below, include only the oil recoverable from the ground by present methods, but it is practically certain that the percentage of oil to be recovered from the American oil fields will be vastly increased by the application of new and improved methods of recovery. At present, however, this phase of production may be regarded as in the experimental stage. Little has benn definitely determined as to the applicability of "air pressure," "water drive, "gas pressure,' vacuum extraction," and other new methods to different regions, with their variation in conditions, or to the increase in production to be counted on from the use of these methods. The committee therefore feels that at present any estimates of such possible additional recoveries would probably contain errors enormously greater than those inherent in the estimates made on the basis of methods now in use. In only one region are the geologic conditions so well known and the experience with improved methods on a commercial basis so extensive and so long continued as to justify the formulation of estimates based on the results obtained. This is the region in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York where the "water drive" is now employed to obtain oil from the Bradford sand, which was supposed to be largely exhausted. Under the peculiar conditions there the use of this method will result in the recovery of a large quantity of oil that can not be recovered by ordinary methods of production. Allowance for the additional oil thus recovered has therefore been made in the estimates. It has already been found, however, that this method is not applicable to some other districts, and accordingly no allowance has been made for possible additional recovery through its use where its suitability to the local conditions has not been actually demonstrated. In the light of these estimates as to the extent of our supplies of natural petroleum, the joint committee points out the stern obligation of the citizen, the producer, and the Government to give most serious study to the more complete extraction of the oil from the ground, as well as to the avoidance of waste, either through direct losses or through misuse of crude oil or its products. (Thereupon the committee adjourned to meet to-morrow, Thursday, June 22, 1922, at 10.30 o'clock.) PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN. COMMITEE ON IRRIGATION OF ARID LANDS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10.30, o'clock a. m., Hon. Edward C. Little presiding. Mr. LITTLE. Gentlemen, the committee will please come to order. I understand that Mr. Bacon is to speak first this morning. Mr. RAKER. Before you proceed with that, Mr. Chairman, there has been so much said about the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of the State of Wyoming versus the State of Colorado, the Greeley-Poudre irrigation district, and the Laramie-Poudre Reservoirs & Irrigation Co., that I would ask that the decision in that case, No. 3, original, October term, 1921, be printed in the record, so as to have it at the beginning here. Mr. LITTLE. Is there any objection? If not, that will be done. Mr. LITTLE. Might I suggest, Judge, that probably you do not want to put it all in? You might designate the parts that you wish to insert. Mr. RAKER. No; there is nothing that you can leave out in reading it. The decision referred to by consent of the committee is to be printed following the statement of Director Davis. Mr. LITTLE. Now, Mr. Bacon, will you address the committee? Please state your name, residence, and sufficient of your antecedents to shed light upon the reason for your appearance here. STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN L. BACON, MAYOR OF SAN DIEGO, CALIF. Mr. BACON. My name is John L. Bacon, mayor of the city of San Diego, and representing the Southern Branch of the California League of Municipalities. Some time ago the matter of Boulder Canyon was brought to the attention of the organization in California which represents all of the municipalities of the State of California—that is, the League of California Municipalities. We had not realized the gravity of the situation and knew very little about it. This matter was brought up about a year ago. Some information was given at that meeting and later a meeting was called of the southern branch of this organization, known as the Southern Branch of the California League of Municipalities, and action was taken at that meeting to get further information and to see what could be done to relieve this serious situation in the Imperial Valley. We went into it at some length, and about that time various Government reports were coming in; various investigations had been made and Mr. Swing introduced his bill before the House which you are now considering. When it was known that this bill was coming up the organization got further information and then requested that some representative be sent on to Washington to lay this information before the committee. The one thing that appeals to us most strongly is the imminent danger of flood in the Imperial Valley. We did not even realize it out there until we commenced to investigate. You see, California is a State of magnificent distances, and we do not always realize our neighbor's difficulties. Before coming out here I took a trip down into Mexico on this project to be sure that I had the facts. There was some feeling of apprehension before, and after going down there there was a feeling of actual terror in connection with it. It is pretty hard to point out-I did not realize it, and I realize that it is infinitely harder to give any idea here of the awful danger that threatens that valley. To go back a little ways, this map here I think will show more clearly than anything else the situation. There is a peculiar condition existing here that I 73 do not think exists anywhere else in this country. It was not very long since that the ocean beach line followed this line up around through here [indicating map of Imperial Valley and vicinity] and came up through here. This was all ocean. When I say "not very long since," I am speaking from a geological standpoint. That was only a few hundred years. Imperial Valley was all under water at that time. This was part of the ocean [indicating Imperial Valley and vicinity]. The Colorado River, coming down here [indicating], as it follows down its channel brings more or less silt with it--dirt. There is not a man here but what has watched perhaps these little spring freshets that come in every part of the country, where a groove or a gulley will be washed down the side of the hill, and then when you reach your lowland at the bottom, where it is flat, the dirt that has been brought down from that gulley will spread out and form sort of a little triangular mound. The dirt washing down the side hills makes this mound and builds up the lowland. You have probably seen some lowlands built up 3 or 4 feet. That is exactly what took place here. The mud which came down this river built up a sort of a delta here until gradually it built up a mound out here [indicating], and the river was diverted and came out through here where these dotted lines are [indicating]. This water then evaporated and left a great deep basin 300 feet below sea level, and there is no way to drain it; it is simply a basin there down below the level of the ocean. Now, in the course of time this river repeated its process, and instead of filling up over in here [indicating], it has filled up this portion, with the result that the river now is attempting to break back into its old basin [indicating]. It did break through in 1905, and it took a year and a half to stop the break. In the meantime the Salton Sea was gradually filling up. Since that date this whole delta has filled up about 13 feet. You can get some idea of the amount of mud brought down that river when from a rough calculation it is found that that mud, if dumped on the District of Columbia, would raise the level of the land in the District of Columbia about 3 feet every year. In other words, there is enough mud in that river to put a layer of mud 3 feet deep over the entire District of Columbia every year. Now, here is the situation: A series of levees were put in here in an effort to control the river. Each year the river has brought down this mud and built up the delta on the river side of the levee. It is getting higher and higher all the time. We checked that up last week. Mr. Swing telegraphed back to get the actual elevation, and we found that since 1908 the point right there at Volcano Lake levee [indicating] has risen 16 feet higher than it was. That river bed has raised 16 feet since 1908. This point is about 35 feet lower than the point right here at Bee River and Pascadero Cut where the river is now [indicating]. Mr. LITTLE. Will you say that again, please? Mr. BACON. About the elevation? Mr. LITTLE. Yes, sir. Mr. BACON. This map to-day is not correct, because the land is changing so fast. It may be correct to-day, and this is as close an approach to correctness as we can get. That just shows you how the river changes. Mr. LITTLE. In what way is it not correct? Mr. BACON. Because the river bed is constantly changing. A tree may come down there, lodge against the side of the levee, and the current may scour out and break the levee, simply from a tree coming down. That could happen in half an hour, and has happened in half an hour. Here is a map gotten out by the United States Geological Survey in 1908. It is not quite the same scale as that map is [indicating], but you can see what that is, as shown on the map here. Now, that map was correct in 1908. To-day all of this land down in here has been filled up, with the result that that river has been forced, as you can see, off to the left toward Imperial Valley. This year an effort was made to control the river and force it through here at Pascadero Cut. 'It was successful, but from an engineering standpoint I can not see how it can last over three or four years. It is a race against time to keep the river out of that valley. If it ever breaks in, I don't see how they can ever stop it. When the river broke here in 1905, it washed a great deep gully, starting here at Salton Sea, and gradually it is working back across the border into Mexico beyond Calexico way up to this point. Now, that gully only has about 35 miles farther to go to hit the river this time. That time it cut over 40 miles. Once it cuts that gully, they tell us it will scour right back up here and probably take out the Yuma Bridge, part of the town of Yuma, |