Water Pollution
1. Which of the following would NOT be a point source for water pollution? (p. 436)
A. factories
B. underground coal mines
C. sewage treatment plants
D. agricultural runoff from farmers' fields
E. power plants
2. An example of diffuse, non-point water pollution is (p. 437)
A. leakage of sulfuric acid from injection copper mining.
B. outdated water treatment plants.
C. atmospheric deposition of dioxin in Lake Superior.
D. a factory's daily discharge of effluent into a river.
E. none of the above.
3. Which of the following is true of water pollution world-wide? (p. 438)
A. infectious diseases are the most serious form, for human health, that water pollution takes
B. world-wide, nearly 2/3 of mortalities in children under 5 are associated with waterborne diseases
C. nearly 1/2 of the people in the world lack clean drinking water
D. A and C
E. all of the above
4. The major source of water pollutants that cause ecosystem disruption is (p. 438)
A. infectious agents.
B. oxygen demanding wastes like animal manure.
C. sediment from agricultural erosion.
D. radioactive materials.
E. B and C.
F. A and B.
5. In the portion of a river with an oxygen sag, you might find (p. 439)
A. that you are downstream from a source of organic pollution.
B. that fish are generally absent.
C. that fish are plentiful.
D. that biochemical oxygen demand has gone way down.
E. A and B.
F. B and D.
6. A lake that is oligotrophic has (p. 440)
A. many organisms.
B. high nutrient levels.
C. high biological productivity.
D. low biological productivity.
E. A and C.
7. Cultural eutrophication can be caused by (p. 440)
A. cutting trees along a streambank thereby adding more sunlight to a stream.
B. lawn fertilizer runoffs.
C. dumping warmed cooling tower water into a small stream.
D. increases in animal wastes.
E. all of the above.
8. An example of cultural eutrophication is (p. 440)
A. increases in dinoflagellates that cause the red tides.
B. the large hypoxic zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River called the Dead Zone.
C. algal blooms in protected bays on the Black Sea.
D. A and C.
E. all of the above.
9. An example of a toxic inorganic water pollutant is (p. 441)
A. mercury.
B. dioxin.
C. fertilizers.
D. toxaphene.
E. all of the above.
10. One interesting byproduct of the massive irrigation of crops in the arid West is (p. 441)
A. increases in mercury in the drinking water.
B. salinization of the soil and increases in selenium runoff.
C. decreases in the concentration of dioxins in groundwater.
D. increases in the water table.
E. all of the above.
11. As a consequence of the 1972 Clean Water Act, water pollution from industrial and municipal origins (p. 443)
A. has increased as a percentage of the total water pollution created in the United States.
B. is only about 10% of the United States' water pollution problem.
C. is about 75% of the United States' water pollution problem.
D. has caused massive, widespread eutrophication.
E. none of the above.
12. The greatest impediments to achieving national goals in water quality in the United States are (p. 444)
A. nonpoint sources.
B. point sources.
C. new industrial developments along the Mexican border.
D. outdated sewage treatment plants.
E. none of the above.
13. Of the sources of water pollution in the United States, the most miles of river are damaged by (p. 444)
A. industrial waste dumping.
B. forestry practices.
C. mining.
D. agriculture.
E. sewage treatment.
14. In developing countries, surface water (p. 446)
A. often contains high coliform counts due to lack of sewage disposal.
B. has very low biochemical oxygen demand.
C. is protected by tough environmental laws and rigid enforcement.
D. quality is protected from the effects of rapid urbanization by United Nations water projects.
E. all of the above.
15. In Iowa and Florida, for example, large numbers of the water wells that were tested showed (pp. 447-448)
A. contamination by the herbicides atrazine and alachlor.
B. nitrate contamination from fertilizers.
C. excessive levels of the pesticide ethylene dibromide.
D. A and D.
E. all of the above.
16. One major problem with contamination of aquifers is that (p. 447)
A. they can eutrophy.
B. the large ones, like the Ogallala aquifer, require constant cleaning.
C. deep aquifers require hundreds of thousands of years to cycle through their water supply, and the contaminants are very stable underground.
D. biochemical oxygen demand is high in deep aquifers.
E. all of the above.
17. Scientists believe that the greater threat to the ocean's overall ecological health is (p. 451)
A. eutrophication.
B. chronic, land-based pollution from industrial and agricultural runoff.
C. oil spills and oil well blowouts, especially in tropical waters.
D. plastic flotsam.
E. none of the above.
18. An example of successful source reduction in the United States is (p. 451)
A. the elimination of lead gasoline and the resultant drop in lead concentrations in the surface water.
B. the use of atrazine on crops in the Midwestern United States.
C. the almost total elimination of sediment from overgrazed fields and pastures.
D. elimination of urban runoff like pesticides and oil residues from streets.
E. all of the above.
19. Tertiary treatment of sewage, in modern sewage facilities, (p. 453)
A. separates the solid from the liquid waste.
B. can take place in an artificially constructed wetland or marsh.
C. removes plant nutrients, especially nitrates and phosphates.
D. consists of the biological degradation of dissolved organic compounds.
E. B and C.
20. The 1972 Clean Water Act (pp. 455-456)
A. requires discharge permits for point sources.
B. requires that point source emitters use best practice control technology to reduce emissions.
C. zero discharge for over 120 priority toxic pollutants.
D. regulates filling and draining of wetlands.
E. all of the above.