THIRTIETH BIENNIAL REPORT 



71 



In wilful cases of pollution a complaint is filed immediately. In gen- 

 eral, it may be said that this branch of the work is carried on from an 

 educational and cooperative viewpoint. 



It was soon determined that the most serious problem was that of oil 

 pollution. California is one of the three states in the nation that lead 

 in oil production and as most of the fields and refineries are contiguous 

 to public waters the resulting oil pollution is of large proportions. 



The oil refineries use considerable water in their operations and this 

 water carries surface or "free oil," and oil mixed in with particles of 

 matter which does not readily come to the surface. The problem pre- 

 sented is to make the oil come to the surface where it may be skimmed 

 off. On inspection it was found that many of the refineries permitted 

 oil to escape with the waste water. Due to betterments in the reclaim- 

 ing systems, the refineries inspected are now passing a waste water that 

 is free from visible signs of oil. This prevention of pollution by 



Fig. 23. Oil Operators. Inc., original sumps with treatment equipment to handle 

 waste and prevent pollution. Overloading of these sumps due to deeper drilling at 

 Signal Hill necessitated additional sumps. Photo, courtesy of A. R. Yorston, vice 

 president, Oil Operators, Inc. 



refineries has very materially helped in improving the adjacent public 

 waters. Individual expenditures by refineries to attain this condition 

 have ranged from several thousand dollars to over one hundred thou- 

 sand dollars. 



Many of the oil producing fields are in natural drainages to public 

 waters. This presents a difficult problem in pollution prevention. In 

 the hurry of drilling and producing, little thought is had for escaping 

 oil. Congestion of wells in a small area and many independent oper- 

 ators add to the problem. This is well illustrated by the southern Cali- 

 fornia fields, notably Signal Hill and Huntington Beach. 



An example worthy of notice of cooperative effort to prevent oil pol- 

 lution occurred at the Signal Hill field. Oil escaping from this field 

 found its way to the ocean waters and, lodging on the beach in the 

 vicinity of Long Beach, hindered the full enjoyment of the beach. The 

 majority of the Signal Hill operators organized the Oil Operators, Inc., 

 for the purpose of controlling the escaping oil. Originally 13 acres 



