Water injection into an oil reservoir to increase recovery was first attempted in Oklahoma on an oil lease 5.8 miles east of this location. From that effort, a recovery method previously used in eastern fields was adapted to conditions in this area. The initial experimental waterflood was developed by Bert Collins on a shallow producing property in Rogers County in May 1931 on a Carter Oil Company lease. Because the test was encouraging, the method was applied to other oil reservoirs. In modern flooding projects, water is injected under high pressure into oil-bearing formations to force oil through the strata to nearby producing wells, from which it is pumped. On average, 10 barrels of water are injected for each barrel of crude oil recovered. Nowata became the hub of waterflooding for the area, with most field activity in Rogers County, where vast oil reserves had been proven. Waterflooding then spread to adjoining states and around the world, and billions of barrels of crude oil have been recovered through the method, increasing supplies of energy and fuel that might otherwise have remained locked in the earth.