CHAPTER 11WATER RESOURCES AND WATER POLLUTION

MC
Water that is used for crop irrigation in southern Californias Imperial Valley originates as snowmelt in
the
Rocky Mountains

The Colorado River system can be said to provide water and electricity for
one of every ten people in the United States

Which of the following statements about the Colorado River is not true?
the river still delivers the same amount of water to the sea in the Gulf of California

Lake Powell
is a reservoir behind Glen Canyon Dam and is the second largest reservoir in the
U.S.

Water covers about ____% of the Earth's surface.

71

A water resource that would be categorized as nonrenewable would be

confined aquifers

That portion of surface runoff that we can generally count on as a stable source of freshwater from
year to year is best described as

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 reliable runoff

Ultimately, which of the following is the source of energy that continually drives the hydrologic cycle?
energy from the sun and gravity

Virtual water is water

that is not directly consumed but is used to provide us with food and other consumer
products

We can say that the United States has _____________freshwater scarcity stress
Widespread

Worldwide, about 70% of the water withdrawn each year is used for
irrigation of croplands and raising livestock

In the western United States, as compared to the eastern United States, the major water problem(s) is
(are)
chronic drought and insufficient runoff

Which of the following statements is false?

The recharge of aquifers below cities is very efficient because of storm drains.

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The amount of water needed to produce the amount of beef in one single hamburger (most of which is
used to grow the grain to feed cattle) is approximately
16 bathtubs full of water

The Ogallala is which of the following?

the world's largest known aquifer

Which of the following is not a way to prevent groundwater depletion?

tax water pumped from wells near surface waters

Large dams and reservoirs

two of these answers are correct

Which of the following statements about the Aral Sea is false?

Water has been diverted from the Aral Sea and the two rivers that replenish its
water for use in manufacturing.

Currently, in the United States, groundwater is being withdrawn ____ times faster than it is being
replaced.
4

In 2008, Saudi Arabia announced that it will stop producing wheat by 2016 and will from that point on
import wheat to feed its 29 million people. This decision has been made because
its major deep aquifer has been depleted by drawing water for irrigation

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Which of the following statements about desalination is true?
Desalination is expensive.

It is most economically and environmentally sound to focus water resource management on

reducing unnecessary waste of water

Saltwater intrusion into freshwater (drinking water) supplies can occur when
groundwater is withdrawn near saltwater bodies

Conflicts within and between countries over scarce water supplies is expected to be most severe in
the Middle East and part of Asia

In some areas of the Ogallala aquifer, water is being pumped

10 to 40 times faster than it is being replenished

Solutions to the increasing problem with water shortages in central and southern California include
reducing water waste by improving irrigation efficiency, not growing water-thirsty
crops in this arid climate and raising the historically low cost of water to encourage
conservation

According to the World Resources Institute, what percentage of the water that people use throughout
the world is unnecessarily wasted?

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 two-thirds

Which of the following is true of flood irrigation?

It results in 40% inefficient loss of the water applied and it is the primary form of
irrigation used in China.

Which of the following is the most efficient form of irrigation?

micro irrigation

According to water resource experts, what are the two main causes of water waste?
low cost of water to users and lack of government subsidies for improving the
efficiency of water use

The smart card water manager system that is used in ___________has typically reduced water and
electricity use, and has reduced household water bills by about _______%
Brazil, 40%

According to the United Nations, from 30% to 60% of all water supplied in all of the worlds major
cities in developing countries is
lost through leakage of water mains, pipes, pumps, and valves

Which of the following actions will help to decrease the single greatest use of domestic water in the
United States?
install a water-saving toilet tank

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Benefits of floods include all of the following except
filling up of soil air spaces to prevent oxidation of nutrients

Floodplains usually contain

highly productive wetlands

Floods and droughts are

influenced by human activities

Humans increase the likelihood of flooding by all of the following activities except
building a park on a riverbank

Which of the following human activities is thought to be directly linked to why the damage from
Hurricane Katrina was so devastating to the city of New Orleans?
the degradation or removal of coastal wetlands in the region

All of the following are actions that the country of Bangladesh is implementing to adapt to sea level
rises due to climate change except
develop a system of capturing wave action during monsoons to run small, local
power plants

To reduce flooding risks, an environmentalist is most likely to choose

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 floodplain management

All of the following are nonpoint sources of water pollution except

offshore oil wells

Which of the following is a point source of pollution?

oil tankers

Which of the following statements is false?

Inorganic nutrients such as fertilizers have no adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems.

Nitrates and phosphates are examples of

plant nutrients

Acids, salts, and metals are examples of

inorganic chemicals

One class of pollutants that can cause excessive growth of algae is

plant nutrients

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Which of the following decrease(s) photosynthesis in bodies of water?
sediment such as soil or silt

An oxygen sag curve occurs when

The breakdown of biodegradable wastes by bacteria lowers the available oxygen in
the water for organisms with high oxygen requirements.

Which of the following statements is false?

Rivers are more vulnerable than lakes to contamination by plant nutrients, oil,
toxins, and pesticides.

Which of the following developments of cultural eutrophication would occur last?

increase in anaerobic bacteria

About ____ of the 100,000 medium to large lakes in the U.S. suffer from cultural eutrophication.
one-third

Assume you are vacationing by a small lake, where you intend to do some fishing. When you arrive at
this lake, you notice a slight sulfur smell. Which phase of cultural eutrophication does this sulfur smell
indicate?
Anaerobic bacteria are decomposing the aerobic organisms.

Groundwater

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 is cold, which slows down decomposition rates

_______________________ is the only effective way to protect groundwater.

pollution prevention

The practice of suspending rust particles in contaminated water, and then drawing out the rust with
hand-held magnets, has been effective in dealing with
arsenic contaminated water

Arsenic is released into drinking water

from mining refuse

Which of the following statements about underground contaminants is false?

Waste products are diluted and dispersed quickly in underground aquifers.

Which of the following aquatic ecosystems receives the vast majority of the global inputs of pollution?
coastal parts of the ocean

Which of the following aquatic ecosystems is most capable of diluting, dispersing, and degrading large
amounts of sewage, sludge, and oil?
deep-water ocean

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The majority of the oil pollution of the ocean comes from
runoff from land

All of the following are true about the discharge trading policy except
polluters who pollute at higher levels than they have permits for are immediately
closed down

Which of the following types of sewage treatment are properly matched?

secondary--removal of oxygen-demanding wastes

The shift to pollution prevention will most likely be the result of

bottom-up political pressure

The main sources of lead, mercury and arsenic water pollutants are
inclined landfills, household chemicals, mining refuse and industrial discharges

Which of the following statements about drinking bottled water is NOT true?
86% of the bottles containing bottled water are recycled

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TF

Most aquifers are rapidly recharged through precipitation that percolates downward through
soil and rock.F

A large amount of the world's drinking water comes from desalination.F

We are using freshwater unsustainably by wasting it, polluting it and not charging enough for
it.T

Some water resources are best categorized as nonrenewable.T

Drinking is the biggest use of water worldwide.F

Flooding increases with economic and urban development.T

Eutrophication is a condition of natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary or slow-

moving stream.T

Global reduction of grain-fed beef consumption would help to reduce water shortages.T

One potential problem associated with global warming is that rising sea levels will cause salt
contamination of coastal area soils.T
The creation of dams and reservoirs has decreased the annual reliable runoff available for
human use.F

Salt from the region of the Aral Sea is being blown onto the alpine glaciers of the Himalayas,
and is causing them to melt at faster than normal rates.T

Federal subsidies are provided to U.S. farmers who reduce water use in irrigation.F

Drip irrigation systems can increase crop yields by 2090%.T

An oligotrophic lake tends to have relatively high levels of dissolved oxygen.T

If we protect more wetlands, that will actually increase the threat of flooding.F

Use of dams, reservoirs and water transfer projects has disrupted ecosystems. T

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 The shrinkage of the Aral Sea has actually altered the climate of the area around it. T

Heat is a type of water pollutant.T

Atmospheric warming will increase water pollution in areas with increased rainfall and areas
with prolonged drought. T

Cruise ships are a significant source of pollution of ocean water.T

The United States is the worlds largest user of water, and wastes about 50% of all water
drawn from surface and groundwater sources.T

Land erosion causes water pollution.T

Preventing contamination is the least expensive and most effective way to protect groundwater
resources. T

Water in a tap in Palm Springs, California, could have originated in northwestern Colorado.T

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COMPLETION

____________________ are deep underground sources of freshwater found between the porous
geological layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock.

Aquifers

When a lot of water is pumped from an aquifer, or when there is a dry spell, the
____________________ sinks lower.

water table

____________________ involves removing dissolved salts from ocean water or from to increase
supplies of freshwater.

Desalination

A flood happens when water in a stream overflows its normal channel and spills into the adjacent area,
called a(n) ____________________.

floodplain

One of the most serious overdrafts of groundwater is in the United States in the lower half of the
________________aquifer.

Ogalalla

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____________________ is the name given to the natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake.

Eutrophication

Withdrawing massive amounts of groundwater can cause a condition called____________

______________

land subsidence

____________________ keep the price of water so low that users do not worry about wasting water.

Subsidies

About ____________% of the freshwater used in the United States is unnecessarily wasted.

50

Human activities can greatly accelerate the rate at which nutrients and organic substances enter aquatic
ecosystems from their surrounding watersheds in a process called ______________
_______________.

cultural eutrophication

Spaces in rock and soil called the ____________________ are completely filled with water.

zone of saturation

The LifeStraw is a portable ____________________that eliminates many bacteria and viruses that are
drawn into it.

water filter

The country with the highest percentage of agricultural land irrigated with drip irrigation is
____________________.

Cyprus

In the United States and most other developed countries, there has been an increase in the number and
quality of _______________ treatment plants since the 1970s.

wastewater

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________________is slower to cleanse itself of contaminants than ____________________
_______________ ________________is.

Groundwater, flowing surface water

Drip irrigation is used on ____________________%of irrigated crop fields in the United States, and
____________________% of irrigated crop fields worldwide.

4, 1

About _________% of the garbage in the huge rotating masses of plastic and other trash in the Pacific
Ocean comes from land.

90

MATCHING

1. On the dilution and decay of degradable wastes figure, choose the zone in which
populations of organisms with high oxygen requirements will most likely be eliminated.
2. On the dilution and decay of degradable wastes figure, choose the zone in which the
breakdown of degradable wastes by bacteria starts to deplete the dissolved oxygen.
3. On the dilution and decay of degradable wastes figure, choose the zone in which the
water has recovered from oxygen-demanding wastes and heat.
4. On the dilution and decay of degradable wastes figure, choose the zone in which the
water needs time and must have an adequate flow rate.
5. On the dilution and decay of degradable wastes figure, choose the zone in which the
bacteria have not started the decay of degradable, oxygen-demanding wastes.

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 1. C
2. B
3. E
4. D
5. A
Match the items listed below with the appropriate choice

6. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where bacteria are killed and the water is clean.
7. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where sludge is dried before being disposed of.
8. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where the water is aerated.
9. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where large floating objects and solids are removed.
10. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where activated sludge settles out in the biological process of sewage treatment.
11. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where suspended solids settle out as sludge in the physical process of sewage treatment.
12. On the primary and secondary sewage treatment figure, choose the letter that
represents where all the sludge is combined before drying.

6. E
7. G
8. C
9. A
10. D
11. B
12. F

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