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ASP 201 > Water > Flashcards

Water Flashcards

1
Q

What is SDWA?

A

Safe Drinking Water Act - 1974
amended in 1986 and 1996
“to protect public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply”

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2
Q

What sources is SDWA concerned with?

A

rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, ground water wells

NOT private wells

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3
Q

Who bears responsibility to make sure SDWA monitoring happens?

A

the states

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4
Q

What are the policies of the SDWA?

A

set enforceable health standards for contaminants in drinking water
requires issuance of public info
disinfection of water supplies
state funds for water system infrastructure
monitoring and assessment
enforcement is federal-state partnership

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5
Q

What are the standards for water quality under SDWA?

A 
MCLG - max. contaminant level goal
    best level to eliminate health risks
    non-enforceable
MCL - max. contaminant level
    highest level allowed
    enforceable
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6
Q

Who has oversight of bottled water?

A

FDA
can deem “adulterated”
compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices
standards of identity, labeling, branding

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7
Q

What progress has been made in water regulation?

A

double the # of Americans served by sewage treatment facilities in last 30 years
doubled % of water bodies meeting water quality standards since 1972

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8
Q

What does SDWA require standards and treatment this time?

A

public water supplies
control underground injection of wastes
finance infrastructure projects
protect sources of drinking water

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9
Q

What is major concern with implementation of SDWA and CWA regulations?

A

small water systems - technical, economic and managerial challenges

allowed variances in some cases

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10
Q

What is CWA?

A

Clean Water Act - 1972

overseen by EPA

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11
Q

What do CWA policies do?

A

reduce direct pollutant discharges
finance municipal WWTPs
manage non-point source pollution
“restore and maintain”

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12
Q

What is the history of CWA?

A

started in 1948, major overhaul in 1972
zero discharge rules in 1983 (swimmable) and 1985 (fishable)
now primarily focused on NPS

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13
Q

What are TMDLs?

A

total maximum daily loads

includes a safety margin, growth allocation, NPS load allocation, and point source load allocation

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14
Q

What is NPDES?

A

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
Section 402
makes it illegal to discharge point source pollution without a permit into surface water
ag exemption for return irrigation flows and smaller feedlots and aquaculture

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15
Q

How are CAFOs treated under CWA?

A

point source
a CAFO if animals are confined for 45+ days of the year, grass isn’t available in confinement AND you have a large # of animals OR medium # w/certain surface water conditions

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16
Q

What is section 319 of CWA?

A

1987
federal grant program to states for NPS management
40% cost-share required
ex) develop TDMLs in watershed with majority NPS
partnership with NRCS

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17
Q

What is SRF?

A

state revolving fund - 1987
annual capitalization grant program to states
states then give low interest loan to local muni
20& state match, loan repayments & bonds grow the fund over time
fund WWTPs, NPS projects, estuary programs

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18
Q

What are the two major parts to CWA?

A

federal financial asst. for WWTPs

regulatory requirements for industrial and municipal dischargers

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19
Q

What is the function of soil in terms of water?

A

storage reservoir for water that can be accessed by plants

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20
Q

What is pore space?

A

small scale storage - space between soil particles
larger particles have larger pore space and more drainage

usually want 1/2 the area to be pore space for air and water

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21
Q

What effects porosity?

A

soil texture - clay have more pore space, sandy have larger pores that are drained by gravity
SOM - aggregation
management - compaction reduces pore space, degradation effects water holding capacity

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22
Q

What is soil water?

A

water held in tension - the opposite of pressure

23
Q

How can soil water be described?

A

gravitational water - flows through profile (leaching and percolation)
field capacity
wilting point

24
Q

What is field capacity?

A

water remaining after draining from saturation

tension of approximately 1/3 bar (or atmosphere)

25
Q

What is the wilting point?

A

beyond which root can’t extract water

tension of approximately 15 bars

26
Q

What is the wilting coefficient?

A

level of soil moisture at which water becomes unavailable to plants and permanent wilting ensues

27
Q

What is the maximum plant available water?

A

field capacity - wilting point

28
Q

What are the mechanisms for soil water releasing to the atmosphere?

A

transpiration

evaporation

29
Q

What is transpiration?

A

a function of the species, humidity, and temp.
loss of water vapor at the leaf surface
stomata is the portal for CO2, H2O and O2
creates negative water balance in plant

30
Q

What happens in the roots during transpiration?

A

where the action occurs (capillary)
water enters really small roots that are mostly concentrated in the surface layer
they explore only a small volume of soil, but affect water movement
connected to above ground biomass via xylem
*they don’t grow through dry soil to find water

31
Q

What is evaporation?

A

loss of water vapor at the soil surface
function of temp., humidity, soil water content and texture
when no plants are present, all water loss to atmosphere is E
for some systems, most water loss it T

32
Q

What is infiltration?

A

movement into soil layer (atmosphere –> soil)
slower for fine-textured soils
slower for degraded soils
slows as soil becomes saturated
if precipitation > infiltration, then runoff
if soil is saturated, then runoff

33
Q

How does water move through the soil profile?

A

hydraulic conductivity

*used to be called permeability

34
Q

What is hydraulic conductivity?

A

soils in Nat’l survey classified this way (Ks)
measure of a saturated soil’s ability to transmit water when subjected to a hydraulic gradient
ease with which pores allow movement of water, under saturated conditions

35
Q

How is drought categorized?

A

meteorological - usually as a % of normal
agricultural - reduction in crop yield is implied
hydrological - impacts on surface/ground water

36
Q

What is necessary for a sustainable use of ground water?

A

recharge

also the source of groundwater pollution potential

37
Q

What is the Palmer Index?

A

measure of drought

based on calculation of soil water status across region

38
Q

What is the Crop Moisture Index?

A

measure of drought

assesses short term water supply for crop growth

39
Q

What is the Standardized Precipitation Index?

A

can be used on different time scales to measure drought or moisture status

40
Q

What is the rule for water rights in the Eastern U.S.?

A

riparian water rights

41
Q

What has the Columbia Basin been used for?

A

generation of inexpensive electricity
energy for defense work
impoundment for irrigation

*conflicts with fishing industry
decisions made by Bureau of Reclamation

42
Q

What is the primary and secondary source of water storage for California?

A

primary - snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas

secondary - water behind dams (mostly Colorado)

43
Q

Describe the current situation in California.

A

snowpack is only 30% of average
some areas have declared to allocation of irrigation rights this year
leaves land uncovered with vegetation for long time period
serious impacts on air quality

44
Q

In California, who makes the decisions about water?

A

state projects

2 largest are the State Water Project and Central Valley Project

45
Q

How is water moved in California?

A

large scale conveyance (wide and shallow)
some moved through pipes
distributes water directly to fields

46
Q

What do water rights look like in California?

A

surface water can be diverted for “beneficial use”, traditionally ag, industry and homes
lose your rights if you don’t use them –> creates disincentive for conservation
rights are transferable
first in time, first in right

47
Q

What are California water rights based on?

A 
Prior Appropriation (Colorado Doctrine)
first in time, first in right
continues until fully appropriated
senior rights can use their entire allocation even if junior rights get nothing
some stipulations for "wasteful" use
48
Q

What percent of water is used for agriculture in California?

A

80%

most cities have improved their water use, ag lags behind

49
Q

What is the Law of the River?

A

Colorado River

1922: allocation to upper and lower sections, each get 7.5M acre feet
1929: Hoover Dam authorized by Boulder Canyon Project
1944: Mexican Water Treaty (they get 1.5 M acre/feet)
1948: upper basin compact
1964: Arizona vs. California (wins)

50
Q

What were the original concerns about the Missouri River?

A

transportation ability - move your grain to the population centers

51
Q

How has the Missouri River basin been controlled?

A

through a mixture of state and federal actions

52
Q

How do the upper and lower Missouri River basins differ?

A

upper - areas of shortage and development of irrigation over time
lower - navigation, channelized, flood control,

significant tribal ownership of rights

53
Q

What are the consequences of removal of surface and ground water above recharge rate?

A

land subsidence
habitat loss
degradation of water quality

ASP 201 (5 decks)

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