378 



THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



WESTERN WATER CO. PUMPING PLANTS 



Every day marks the completion of a new pro- 

 ject for the benefit of mankind. Great and small, 

 they are chronicled and criticized. The description 

 of one great achievement worthy of comment is here 

 given. 



Prompted by the urgent need of the oil fields, 

 Mr. C. B. Colby, of Bakersfield, Cal., conceived the 

 plan to organize and promote a corporation to sup- 



Pumping Station No. 1, Western Water Co., Taft, Calif. 



ply water for boiler, drilling and domestic purposes, 

 to the largest oil field in the world, known as the 

 "Midway." 



This field was at that time being supplied with 

 boiler and drilling water from deep wells situated 

 near Maricopa, Twenty Five Hill, Fellows, and Mc- 

 Kittrick. This water contained so much sulphur 

 and salt that it could not be used for domestic pur- 

 poses. 



The Kern Midway Water Co. furnished the do- 

 mestic water and transported it in tank cars 48 miles 

 from Kern City. This water sold in the fields for 

 20 cents a bbl. 



The Kern Midway Water Co. sold water to the 

 Twenty Three and the Rail Road Water Co., who 

 in return distributed it through small pipe lines to 

 their various customers. 



This inadequate and expensive system of water 

 supply caused the expenditure of thousands of dol- 

 lars that are now saved to the operators ; often the 

 water bill of an operating oil company was more 

 than double its monthly pay roll. 



Because of the conditions just described several 

 unsuccessful attempts were made to supply the field 

 with additional water. 



One notable among them being a plan to bring 

 water down from the mountains on the South, a 

 distance of about 40 miles, through a pipe line. This 

 was abandoned on account of its engineering diffi- 

 culties, which made the cost almost prohibitive. 



In March, 1911, Mr. Colby secured the East y 2 

 of Section 5-31-25, about \ l / 2 miles from Buena 

 Vista Lake and near the point where the Kern 

 River turns to run into the lake and about 12 miles 



from the oil fields, and he immediately interested 

 oil operators throughout the fields. A test well was 

 drilled and pumped continuously for 6 days to es- 

 tablish, without a doubt, the quantity and quality. 

 Water suitable for both domestic and boiler pur- 

 poses was found in abundance. 



A corporation known as the Western Water 

 Company was organized with the following officers 

 and directors: C. B. Colby, president and general 

 manager; Fred H. Hall, vice-president; Ira Hoch- 

 heimer, secretary ; T. M. Young, assistant secretary, 

 and Walter A. Fischer, engineer. 



Stock sold rapidly and soon ample funds were 

 secured to insure success of the venture. 



The plan was to install pumping machinery of 

 sufficient size to pump 2,000,000 gallons per day to 

 a storage tank on the highest hill in the field known 

 as Twenty-Six Hill and distribute by gravitation. 



In July, 1911, the company ordered \2 l / 2 miles 

 of 12-inch, 49-lb. plain end pipe from the National 

 Tube Company, and sufficient pipe had been re- 

 ceive'd by October 1, 1911, to enable them to com- 

 mence laying it. 



This pipe is coupled with Dayton couplings, a 

 style of coupling consisting of a body ring and two- 

 ring flanges, through which bolts are fitted and 

 when drawn up, compress a ring of packing against 

 the outside surface of the pipe, thus making a per- 

 fectly water tight joint. 



The use of this type of coupling facilitates re- 

 pairs in case of leakage or damage to pipe line due 

 to wash-outs, caused by heavy rains in the hills. 



Pumping machinery for the two stations was 

 ordered in July and arrived in September, 1911. 



Station No. 1 is located near the water wells on 

 Section 5-31-25, and the machinery consists of two- 



Three 250 H. P. Fairbsnks-Morse Gas Engines and Connected to Three 

 9x18 F. M. Valve Pot Power Pumps. 



No. 7 Layne & Bowler vertical turbine pumps, the 

 capacity of each is about 2,000,000 gallons per day. 

 These two pumps are driven by one 50 horsepower 

 Fairbanks Morse single cylinder horizontal type en- 

 gine for pump in well No. 5 and one 80 horsepower 

 Fairbanks-Morse 3 cylinder vertical gas engine, type- 

 "R. E." heavy duty for pump in well No. 7. 



