Water & Pollution Quest

Tertiary sewage treatment is designed to remove

nitrates and phosphates

Which of the following choices gives the correct order of processing sanitary waste in a sewage treatment plant?

Solid separation—breakdown of organics by bacteria—disinfection

Which of the following is a point source of water pollution?

offshore oil wells

A body of water can be depleted of its oxygen by ____.

organic wastes

Dead zones are characterized by a lack of ____.

oxygen

The Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone" is caused by high levels of ____ in the Mississippi River.

plant fertilizers

highest priority of the Clean Water Act is to provide

policies to attain fishable and swimable waters in the United States

There are several advantages of withdrawing groundwater. Which of the following is not one of these?

pollution is quickly removed

One of the most important and effective ways to reduce flooding is to ____.

preserve and restore wetlands

The most effective way to protect groundwater is to ____.

prevent contamination

Below are parts of a river associated with a point source pollutant. Which of the below is incorrectly paired?

recovery zone - full restoration of originally high dissolved oxygen levels

In the sewage treatment process, the purpose of chlorination involves ____.

removing discoloration and kill bacteria

Transpiration is the way plants

return large amounts of water to the atmosphere.

One method of desalination uses high pressure to force saltwater through a membrane filter. This method is called ____.

reverse osmosis

What percentage of the world's water supply is liquid freshwater that is available to living organisms?

0.024%

What percentage of the earth's surface is covered by water?

71%

__________ should never be allowed down a drain when a septic tank and drain field system is being used for sewage disposal.

Chlorine and antimicrobial cleansers

Contaminated groundwater cannot cleanse itself. Why?

Contaminants are not dispersed effectively and lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen exist for decomposition.

The one measure that can tell the most about the overall quality of a surface water source is:

DO

Four of the following are disadvantages of dam and reservoir systems; one is not. Choose the one that is not.

Dams and reservoirs increases downstream flooding.

Which of the following best summarizes the disaster of the Aral Sea?

Depletion of water for agriculture has reduced the sea by 90% and increased it's salinity drastically.

The oil company responsible for the oil spill of the Valdez was ____.

Exxon

Which one of these is NOT covered under the Clean Water Act?

Groundwater pollution

Which statement about lakes is true?

Lakes are more vulnerable than streams to contamination by plant nutrients, and toxic substances

To address the water supply problems in the Colorado River basin, experts call for the seven states using the river water to take several actions. What is not one of these?

Lower the price of water taken from the river.

Which of the following is not a test typically used to determine the water quality index?

Mercury

Tapping deep aquifers for water sources creates several concerns. Which of the following is not one of these?

Most are heavily polluted.

Which of the following is not true of the Colorado River basin?

Much needed sediment is washed to coastal wetlands.

Which of the following sequences properly lists the water compartments from largest to smallest.

Ocean Water, Ice/Snow, Lakes/Reservoirs, Atmosphere

_________ sources of water pollution are relatively easy to monitor and regulate while _____________ sources of water pollution are difficult to monitor and cleanup.

Point; nonpoint

Which of the following is not true of the disaster that befell the Aral Sea?

Populations of local animal species have remained stable.

In the U.S., drinking water quality is primarily regulated under the ____.

Safe Drinking Water Act

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of:

The amount of oxygen that aerobic micro-organisms will need to decompose the waste.

What process best explains eutrophication?

The natural aging process of a shallow lake or slow moving stream as nutrients enrich the water.

There are four major problems associated with the use of the Colorado River's water. Which one of the following is not one of those problems?

The river gets most of its water from mountain snow melt.

Which of the following is not a primary goal of a dam and reservoir?

To clean the water supply

Dead zones have a detrimental impact on ____.

fish and shellfish populations

Which of the following water quality parameters is NOT considered to be a water pollutant:

a. plant nutrients b. pathogenic microorganisms c. sediments d. heat ANS: none of the above

What is by far the leading cause of water pollution?

agriculture activities

Of the following organisms, what is the group that is least likely to cause disease?

algae

Storing drinking water in a reservoir is beneficial because it ____.

allows suspended matter to settle.

The geological layer, consisting of underground caverns and porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock, where groundwater flows, is called ____.

an aquifer

Groundwater is primarily stored in underground ____.

aquifers

Residence time of water in oceans is a measure of the

average amount of time a water molecule spends in the ocean.

Oxygen sag curves occur when ____.

bacteria break down biodegradable wastes

which is an example of a point source pollutant

ballast water discharge from a ship offshore

A forested hillside will help eliminate

flooding, because trees help reduce soil erosion and the flow of water downslope

The activity that uses the greatest share of US household water is

flushing the toilet

Wetlands, estuaries, mangrove swamps, and coral reefs are examples of ____.

coastal environments

Rainwater harvesting ____.

collects rainwater from rooftops and stores it

A major US river that contains over 14 dams and reservoirs and supplies water to farms, ranches, and cities in the southwest is:

colorado river

In cultural eutrophication, fish die from ____.

depletion of oxygen

One major human activity that has contributed to flooding is ____.

destroying vegetation

Large dam and reservoir projects ____.

disrupt the migration and spawning of fish

Withdrawing too much water from an aquifer can cause several issues. Which of the following is not one of these?

droughts

The natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary, or slow moving stream is called ____.

eutrophication

Areas such as the San Joaquin Valley and Mexico City have experienced subsidence because ____.

groundwater was overpumped

The hydrologic compartment that contains the greatest amount of fresh water is

ice and snow

The removal of mangrove forests in coastal areas has resulted in ____.

increased flooding

Coliform bacteria populations are routinely monitored in drinking water supplies, swimming pools, and at beaches because these bacteria

indicate the presence of feces in water.

How is cholera transmitted?

ingesting water contaminated by human waste material from a person who already has the disease

The most detrimental situation regarding water pollution would involve a body of water with a _________________ residence time, and a pollutant with a ________________ persistence.

long, high

The goal of the second stage of a septic treatment plant is to . . .

lower the amount of organic material in the water

Precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or evaporate is called ____.

run off

The majority of the oil pollution of the ocean comes from ____.

runoff from land

Which of the following are inorganic toxic substances sometimes found in water supplies?

salts and lead

Which of the below water pollutants is incorrectly paired with its source?

sediments - unlined landfills

The term subsidence refers to

sinking of ground when water has been withdrawn

The total amount of water on the Earth ____________ from year to year and the hydrologic cycle ________________.

stays about the same; moves it from one place to another place

58. In a typical river, the oxygen sag curve is likely to be most severe during: (hint: think of the water temp/oxygen link)

summer

Which type of sewage treatment is properly matched with its process?

tertiary - physical and chemical processes

At a certain depth, the area where the spaces in soil and rock are completely filled with water. What is this called?

the zone of saturation

What is gray water?

used water from showers, sinks, dishwashers, and tubs

The upper surface of the zone of saturation.

water table

What is the land from which surface water drains into a particular lake, river, or other body of water?

watershed