Exam 12: Water Resources

A(n) ____________________ is a canal or pipe that transports water from its natural place to a new location to serve human needs.

Which aquifer could seriously impact the economy of the High Plains for agricultural and feedlot operations if its groundwater is depleted? _________________

Explain how planned flooding events in the Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam helped improve the sandbars, beaches, and habitat for native species in the Grand Canyon area.

The ____________________ comprises an arid and semiarid region between the western mountains and the 100° meridian in the United States, which was first described by John Wesley Powell and he noted that this region would have water shortage issues.

A ____ pollutant can be consumed and destroyed by organisms.

The 1972 Clean Water Act stated that the discharge of sewage needed to be treated before entering back into navigable waters since it is considered a pollutant.

Subsidence of Earth's surface ____.

Explain why Teton Dam failed in 1976 and provide four reasons for the failure.

A plume of contaminated milk that was spilled into an aquifer would be a good candidate for the use of _____________________, which uses microorganisms to decompose a contaminant in ground water.

A person in an industrial urban society can live a clean and healthy life on 50 liters of water per day. How does this compare with the water use for an average American?

Explain why beaches have disappeared along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

In the United States, which type of use accounts for the largest consumption of water?

Dilute acids and bases can be used for the chemical remediation of groundwater contaminants.

Heat can pollute water because it causes typhoid and cholera to grow and be carried into waterways.

Explain what the World Health Organization means by "reasonable water access" and describe how many people lack it.

Anaerobic bacteria can only survive in oxygen-depleted environments and an overabundance of this bacteria can lead to anoxic conditions capable of causing a fish-kill.

Explain why there is a higher concern about nonbiodegradable pollutants as compared to biodegradable pollutants in terms of human health and the environment.

The first step in treating a contaminated aquifer is to ____.

A likely source of phosphates and nitrate fertilizers comes from agricultural runoff or from feedlots.

Fertilizer runoff from fields is an example of ____________________ pollution.