Water Resources

Question 1

properties of water

Answer 1

dipole, dissolves most polar molecules

Question 2

characteristics of the water supply in the US

Answer 2

inexpensive, accessible, plentiful, relatively safe to drink

Question 3

water covers ____% of the earth’s surface

Answer 3

71%

Question 4

how many cubic kilometers of water exist on earth?

Answer 4

1.3 billion

Question 5

how much of the water on earth is suitable for consumption?

Answer 5

3%

Question 6

how much of earth’s water is in the oceans?

Answer 6

97%

Question 7

how long can humans live without water?

Answer 7

3 days

Question 8

how many people lack access to clean drinking water?

Answer 8

1.7 billion

Question 9

how much water do we consume in a day?

Answer 9

3000 liters

Question 10

how much is the global demand for water increasing annually?

Answer 10

• 2.3 %
• doubling every 21 years

Question 11

how many people lack access to water for sanitation and waste disposal?

Answer 11

2.5 billion

Question 12

benefits of water management

Answer 12

• improves water efficiency
• decreases consumption
• preserves remaining resources

Question 13

three major water consumers in the world

Answer 13

agriculture, industry, households/individuals

Question 14

US average daily per capita water use

Answer 14

180 gallons

Question 15

how much of water used for irrigation is lost to evaporation or runoff?

Answer 15

60%

Question 16

what is the largest use of freshwater?

Answer 16

agriculture, about 2/3

Question 17

how is water used in industry?

Answer 17

manufacturing, cooling, condensation by power plants, and waste disposal

Question 18

how much water is used daily by industry in the US?

Answer 18

more than 200 billion gallons

Question 19

what is the worldwide volume of groundwater?

Answer 19

8.5 million cubic kilometers

Question 20

groundwater sources supply drinking water to ___% of people in the US

Answer 20

50%

Question 21

what is an artesian aquifer?

Answer 21

confined on both sides by solid rock, but has an access point through which it can be recharged with groundwater

Question 22

dug/bored wells

Answer 22

not very deep, wide diameter, pump is at the surface

Question 23

drilled wells

Answer 23

submersible pump, intake screen, and connection to power source

Question 24

sources of groundwater contamination

Answer 24

septic systems, underground storage tanks, pesticides, fertilizers, landfills

Question 25

recharge

Answer 25

replacement of groundwater by natural processes

Question 26

water stress

Answer 26

ratio of water withdrawal to water availability

Question 27

ogallala aquifer

Answer 27

• one of the worlds largest aquifers
• beneath the great plains
• under lots of water stress

Question 28

benefits of wetlands

Answer 28

stabilizes soil and slows surface runoff, allowing more aquifer infiltration

Question 29

water in the atmosphere

Answer 29

• smallest reservoir, less than 1%
• most rapid turnover rate

Question 30

increasing water supplies

Answer 30

• building dams, canals, and reservoirs
• seeding clouds
• desalination

Question 31

types of desalination

Answer 31

distillation and reverse osmosis

Question 32

how many deaths per year from water borne infectious agents?

Answer 32

25 million

Question 33

main source of waterborne pathogens

Answer 33

improperly treated human waste

Question 34

biological oxygen demand

Answer 34

the need for oxygen in an environment

Question 35

oxygen sag

Answer 35

when the oxygen levels fall below biological oxygen demand

Question 36

inorganic pollutants

Answer 36

metals, nonmetallic salts, acids and bases

Question 37

organic pollutants

Answer 37

peticides, herbicides, fungicides, pharmaceuticals, pigments

Question 38

Safe Water Drinking Act (1974)

Answer 38

• EPA set maximum contaminant levels for water pollutants
• enforcement carried out by the states

Question 39

oxygen solubility in water ______________ as temperatures increase

Answer 39

decreases

Question 40

___% of the world’s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused

Answer 40

80%

Question 41

types of sewage treatment

Answer 41

pit privies, septic systems, municipal sewage treatment

Question 42

how deep is the pit in a pit privy?

Answer 42

5-6 feets

Question 43

in a pit privy, the waste should be frequently covered with _______

Answer 43

lime

Question 44

the pit of a pit privy must be how far from a water source?

Answer 44

15 meters

Question 45

how far must a septic tank be from water sources?

Answer 45

15 meters

Question 46

how far much a leach field be from water sources?

Answer 46

30 meters

Question 47

primary treatment

Answer 47

physical separation of large solids from the waste stream

Question 48

secondary treatment

Answer 48

biological degradation of dissolved organic compounds

Question 49

tertiary treatment

Answer 49

removal of plant nutrients from secondary effluent

Question 50

what does a comminuter do?

Answer 50

grinds up large materials

Question 51

what happens in a grit chamber?

Answer 51

rocks, gravel, and dense objects are separated out via rapid sedementation

Question 52

what happens in the primary clarifier?

Answer 52

sewage settles and separates into sludge on the bottom

Question 53

what is activated sludge?

Answer 53

biological oxidation process that mixes oxygen and microbes to rapidly break down organic matter, thereby further reducing biological oxygen demand

Question 54

what happens in the secondary clarifier?

Answer 54

the liquid portion of the material from the activated sludge tank is allowed to settle, most bacteria are removed in this process

Question 55

disinfection in municipal waste treatment

Answer 55

chlorine and UV radiation