Deck 14: Freshwater Resources- Toilet to Tap: a California County Is Employing a Controversial Method to - Supply Drinking Water

Question 1

Infographic 14.2.

Why is deforestation a problem in regards to the Earth's freshwater supply?

Answer 1

Deforestation cuts down acres and acres of trees and other plants. As we know from the water cycle, plants, especially large trees, take up water from underground reserves (transpiration) and release it back into the atmosphere (evaporation). If these plants were no longer present and able to do this process, the water cycle would be broken and less freshwater would fall from the clouds to the Earth's surface, resulting in lower ground water supplies in more areas.

Question 2

Which of the following continents has the greatest water scarcity?

A) North America
B) South America
C) Africa
D) Antarctica
E) Europe

Answer 2

Africa

Question 3

The action by which plant roots pull water from the soil and then release some of it into the atmosphere is known as _______________.

A) evaporation
B) transpiration
C) evapotranspiration
D) infiltration
E) condensation

Answer 3

transpiration

Question 4

Not having access to enough clean water supplies is known as _______________.

A) drought
B) freshwater debt
C) groundwater depletion
D) water scarcity
E) none of these answers

Question 5

Which of the following lists the path of water correctly?

A) surface -> soil -> water table -> aquifer
B) surface -> saturated zone -> soil -> aquifer -> water table
C) surface -> water table -> soil
D) lake -> soil -> aquifer -> water table
E) infiltration -> soil -> aquifer -> water table

Question 6

Which statement about water use is incorrect?

A) The World Health Organization estimates that one in three people lack sufficient access to clean water.
B) As the population increases, water scarcity and sanitation issues will also increase.
C) Because of their unsustainable practices, per capita water use in developing countries is far greater than in developed nations.
D) In some areas of the world, there is enough water, but people do not have enough money to purchase or dig wells to access it.
E) Middle Eastern nations are among the most water-stressed countries in the world.

Question 7

Infographic 14.1.

Refer to Infographic 14.1. Which of the following contains the most surface freshwater?

A) groundwater
B) glaciers and ice caps
C) soil moisture
D) rivers
E) lakes

Question 8

Which of the following contribute to the formation of precipitation?

A) cold air in the upper atmosphere
B) solar energy
C) the movement of groundwater
D) evaporation
E) all of these answers

Question 9

Of all the freshwater on the Earth, approximately ________________ is trapped as ice.

A) 10%
B) 80%
C) 50%
D) 8%
E) 60%

Question 10

Which practice requires the greatest amount of water input?

A) flushing the toilet
B) taking a shower
C) making a cotton T-shirt
D) washing dishes
E) producing 1 pound of beef

Question 11

Desalination, the process that removes ________________ from water, is _______________.

A) bacteria; cheap
B) salt and other minerals; expensive
C) pollution; a biomimicry process
D) sewage; mandated by the federal government
E) organic matter; facilitated by reverse osmosis

Question 12

Infographic 14.2.

Refer to Infographic 14.2. Explain the steps and processes in the water cycle as water moves from the ocean to the atmosphere to land and back to the ocean.

Question 13

Out of all of the water on Earth, how much is usable by humans?

A) 50%
B) 10%
C) 5%
D) 1%
E) less than 1%

Question 14

Infographic 14.2.

Refer to Infographic 14.2. Explain how salty ocean water can be recycled to become usable freshwater.

Question 15

Water that has a low level of dissolved ions in it can be found in ____________.

A) glaciers
B) streams
C) lakes
D) groundwater
E) all of these answers

Question 16

Gravity "powers" all of the following processes of the hydrological cycle except ________________.

A) runoff
B) infiltration
C) precipitation
D) transpiration
E) all of these answers

Question 17

Our per capita use of water is known as our ________________.

A) water footprint
B) ecological footprint
C) water scarcity
D) aquifer
E) ecosystem service

Question 18

The largest potential source of freshwater is found in ________________.

A) groundwater
B) lakes
C) oceans
D) polar ice caps and glaciers
E) rivers

Question 19

Infographic 14.1.

Refer to Infographic 14.1. Even though the planet is 75% water, only _________ of this water is freshwater.

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) less than 1/100th of 1%
D) 3%
E) 5%

Question 20

In the southwestern United States, the use of water is approaching or exceeding sustainable limits. This is a good example of _______________.

A) economic water scarcity
B) physical water scarcity
C) inadequate sanitation
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers

Question 21

What are some potential impacts of global warming on aquifers?

Question 22

How might global warming and climate change affect water scarcity in the future?

Question 23

Predict whether the water table would be higher or lower in New Mexico at the height of summer.

A) higher
B) lower

Question 24

Groundwater in aquifers is naturally replenished by _____________.

A) runoff
B) transpiration
C) infiltration
D) seepage from sewers
E) evaporation

Question 25

What is an aquifer?

A) when saltwater intrudes on freshwater supplies
B) a species of conifer that can live underwater
C) an underground region of permeable soil or rock saturated with water
D) the very top region of an underground water reservoir
E) a manmade underground water reservoir system

Question 26

What is one way you can help protect, or advise others in order to protect, your local aquifer?

Question 27

What is a consequence of too much water being removed from an aquifer?

A) saltwater intrusion
B) dry wells
C) cones of depression
D) lowered water table levels
E) all of these answers

Question 28

Which of the following is the closest to the World Health Organization's estimates for those without access to clean water?

A) 10%
B) 18%
C) 33%
D) 53%
E) none of these answers

Question 29

What happens when the water table drops below sea level in aquifers near the ocean?

A) saltwater intrusion
B) seawater conversion to freshwater
C) freshwater intrusion
D) contamination of the entire aquifer with saltwater
E) There is no consequence to this.

Question 30

Problems associated with poor sanitation include _______________.

A) disease transmission
B) exposure to toxins
C) dehydration
D) premature death
E) all of these answers

Question 31

What is the most likely reason that more communities do not use the potable water stored in confined aquifers?

A) It is usually contaminated with salt water.
B) It is impossible to access.
C) Bacteria are not filtered out of this water.
D) It is too expensive to reach and pump out.
E) Most aquifers are unconfined.

Question 32

Water scarcity can lead to _______________.

A) a short life span
B) malnutrition
C) conflict over water rights
D) cultural turmoil
E) all of these answers

Question 33

An aquifer that is separated by impermeable rock is called a(n) _____________ aquifer.

A) confined
B) unconfirmed
C) confirmed
D) unconfined
E) nonporous

Question 34

Which of the following countries has the greatest water footprint?

A) United States
B) Saudi Arabia
C) Sudan
D) Mexico
E) India

Question 35

Compare and contrast physical and economic water scarcity. How might solutions to water scarcity differ for these two causes?

Question 36

Which of the following countries has the highest Water Stress Index?

A) Iran
B) Iraq
C) India
D) Saudi Arabia
E) Pakistan

Question 37

Which of the following would reduce the amount of infiltration of water into an aquifer?

A) paved roads
B) monoculture lawns
C) cement driveways
D) buildings
E) all of these answers

Question 38

The top of the rain-saturated region that may rise or fall seasonally is called the _____________.

A) unconfined aquifer
B) confined aquifer
C) water table
D) infiltrator
E) porous rock

Question 39

What is one important quality of an aquifer?

A) Bacteria and other contaminants are filtered out of the water by rocks and soil.
B) The water supply is replenished through infiltration of rain and snowmelt.
C) It is a source of potable water.
D) Individual homes can access the water supply by digging wells into the aquifer.
E) All of these answers are important qualities of aquifers.

Question 40

Which of the following areas has the lowest percentage of population with access to improved sanitation?

A) rural Latin America
B) urban East Asia
C) rural sub-Saharan Africa
D) urban South-Central Asia
E) none of these answers

Question 41

How much less water do newer Energy Star washing machines use compared with older models?

A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 75%
E) 90%

Question 42

While dams are important, they lose large amounts of water every day due to _____________.

A) infiltration
B) evaporation
C) runoff
D) transpiration
E) all of these answers

Question 43

Coliform bacteria indicate the contamination of a water body with ____________.

A) viruses
B) sediments
C) dioxane
D) fecal material
E) none of these answers

Question 44

Infographic 14.4.

Refer to Infographic 14.4. Explain the relationships between the saturated and unsaturated zones, precipitation and infiltration, and the water table.

Question 45

When treatment marshes are used by sewage treatment facilities to treat wastewater, the treatment marsh is acting as a form of ____________ treatment.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) tertiary
D) potable
E) clarifier

Question 46

Infographic 14.4.

Refer to Infographic 14.4. Explain how the deeper well to the larger house affects the water supply to each of the smaller houses.

Question 47

__________ treatment is a physical process that removes large particles with a screen.

A) Primary
B) Secondary
C) Tertiary
D) Potable
E) Clarifier

Question 48

What could be some of the potential problems using wastewater treatment plants that mimic nature in colder environments?

Question 49

To ensure an ongoing water source, communities construct _____________, which in turn create ______________.

A) wetland sewage filtration systems; reservoirs
B) reservoirs; aquifers
C) dams; reservoirs
D) water tables; aquifers
E) reverse osmosis plants; dams

Question 50

Wetland filtration systems differ from traditional high-tech filtration systems in that _____________.

A) they create water that is not potable
B) they depend on nature to help purify sewage
C) they require a higher energy input than high-tech methods
D) none of these answers
E) both a and b

Question 51

How do traditional wastewater treatment plants differ from wastewater treatment plants that mimic nature?

Question 52

To make wastewater ___________, or clean enough for consumption, it is put through a process called reverse osmosis.

A) sanitary
B) desalinated
C) effluent
D) intrusive
E) potable

Question 53

Why are two sets of marshes used in the Arcata wetland sewage treatment system?

Question 54

Final treatment of wastewater in the United States normally involves treatment with ___________ to make it safe.

A) alcohol
B) radon
C) nitrogen
D) antibiotics
E) chlorine

Question 55

Which of the water projects discussed in this chapter was designed to produce potable water?

A) Arcata
B) Orange County
C) Three Gorges Dam
D) both a and b
E) none of these answers

Question 56

_____________ treatment is a biological process that uses microorganisms to break down organic matter.

A) Primary
B) Secondary
C) Tertiary
D) Potable
E) Clarifier

Question 57

Infographic 14.6.

Refer to Infographic 14.6. Which of the following represents the largest single use of water in a typical U.S. household?

A) leaks
B) baths
C) showering
D) washing clothes
E) toilets

Question 58

One of the first steps in the Orange County project for cleaning up water supplies relied upon _______________.

A) wetlands
B) microfiltration
C) reverse osmosis
D) UV exposure
E) none of these answers

Question 59

Infographic 14.4.

How did the Orange County Water District solve the problem of saltwater intrusion into unconfined coastal aquifers?

A) It built a dam to block the seepage of saltwater into the aquifers.
B) It stopped using those aquifers as public water supplies.
C) It installed desalination plants to purify the water coming out of the aquifers.
D) It began to pump highly treated sewage wastewater into infiltrated wells.
E) It built sea walls along coastal areas to keep out advancing waves.

Question 60

One of the ways wastewater in Orange County is treated is by using reverse osmosis, UV light, and hydrogen peroxide. What does each process do in the treatment of wastewater?

Question 61

Switching to water-saving irrigation methods not only saves water but also _______________.

A) limits water loss to evaporation
B) reduces runoff
C) protects surface water
D) prevents soil salinization
E) all of these answers

Question 62

Many countries have constructed dams and reservoirs as a method to solve water shortages. What are some of the problems associated with dams and reservoirs?

Question 63

Your job is to help households improve water conservation. What are some of the recommendations you would make?

Question 64

Which of the following is a cheap way to maintain water supplies?

A) not waste so much water
B) use water-saving irrigation methods
C) create groundwater replenishment systems
D) install high-tech water filtration systems
E) both A and B

Question 65

Explain how the choice of crops or ornamental plants to plant can help conserve waters.

Question 66

In January 2008, Orange County implemented the Groundwater Replenishment System that reclaimed water that normally would have been wasted as ____________.

A) evaporation
B) runoff
C) ocean
D) landfill
E) all of these answers

Question 67

Currently, several states are using recycled water for nonpotable uses, including _______________.

A) irrigating landscapes
B) irrigating crops
C) filling fountains
D) flushing toilets
E) all of these answers

Question 68

Which statement about recycled water projects is true?

A) Public perception of recycled water projects is, for the majority, negative.
B) Public perception of recycled water projects depends on how plagued a community is by water-scarcity issues.
C) When it comes to citizens understanding, the "toilet to tap" phrase is the best explanation of recycled water projects.
D) Most recycled water projects are unsuccessful.
E) A statewide survey in Arizona, a drought-stricken state, found that residents did not support recycled water projects.

Question 69

Table 14.1.

Refer to Table 14.1. List two conservation strategies that individuals can use to reduce their water use, and provide examples. Why are small changes important?

Question 70

Table 14.1.

Refer to Table 14.1. Explain how using less energy saves water.

Question 71

Explain why it is cheaper to conserve water than it is to purify it or build a dam.