Exam 15: Freshwater Systems and Resources

In a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the primary treatment step includes ________________

Which of the following best describes a floodplain?

We build dams to .

A porous, spongelike layer of rock, sand, or gravel that is capable of holding water

Read the following scenario and answer the questions below. The formation of sinkholes has become a fairly common phenomenon in the state of Florida. Most sinkholes are small, but some sinkholes have led to catastrophic property damage and loss of life. One September day in 1999, folks began to notice that Lake Jackson in the panhandle region was shrinking. Within a few days, it was almost gone. A sinkhole had opened beneath the lake and drained it, along with all of the fish and alligators. Another sinkhole formed just 10 miles from Walt Disney World in August 2013, swallowing a 48- unit villa at Summer Bay Resort. As aquifers lose water, their substrates can become weaker and less capable of supporting overlying strata and any human structures built upon them. In such cases, the land surface above may subside. Sometimes subsidence can occur locally and suddenly, in the form of sinkholes, areas where the ground gives way with little warning. Once the ground subsides, soil becomes compacted, losing the porosity that enabled it to hold water. Recharging a depleted aquifer may therefore become more difficult. -Humans use more fresh water for _ than for any other purpose.

Gray water can ________________.

A long, raised mound of earth used to control flooding along a river

Define water pollution, point source, and nonpoint source pollution. Which of the two (point source or nonpoint source)is easier to identify? Which is easier to legislate? Which currently poses the greatest threat to fresh water?