Water Resources

Question 1

Aquifer

Answer 1

Earth material containing sufficient groundwater that the water can be pumped out; highly fractured rocks and unconsolidated sands and gravels make good aquifers.

Question 2

Consumptive use

Answer 2

A type of offstream use in which the water does not return to the stream or groundwater resource after use; the water evaporates, is incorporated into crops or products, or is consumed by animals or humans.

Question 3

Darcy’s law

Answer 3

Empirical relationship that states that the volumetric flow rate such as cubic meters per day is a product of hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, and cross-sectional area of flow; developed by Henry Darcy in 1856.

Question 4

Desalination

Answer 4

Engineering processes and technology that reduce salinity of water to such a level that it may be consumed by people or used in agriculture.

Question 5

Drainage basin

Answer 5

Area that contributes surface water to a particular steam network.

Question 6

instream use

Answer 6

Water that is used but not withdrawn from its source; for example, water used to generate hydroelectric power.

Question 7

karst topography

Answer 7

A type of topography characterized by the presence of sinkholes, caverns, and diversion of surface water to subterranean routes.

Question 8

Offstream use

Answer 8

Water removed or diverted from its primary source for a particular use.

Question 9

Virtual water

Answer 9

The amount of water necessary to produce a product, such as rice or, in industry, an automobile.

Question 10

Hydrologic cycle

Answer 10

Circulation of water from the oceans to the atmosphere and back to the oceans by way of precipitation, evaporation, runoff from streams and rivers, and groundwater flow.

Question 11

Water management

Answer 11

Practice of managing our water resources.

Question 12

wetlands

Answer 12

efers to a variety of landscape features, such as:

Swamps: Wetland that is frequently or continuously inundated by water
Marshes: Wetland that is frequently or continuously inundated by water
Bogs: Wetland that accumulates peat deposits
Prairie potholes: Small marshlike ponds
Vernal pools: Shallow depressions that occasionally (often seasonally) hold water

Question 13

Acid mine drainage

Answer 13

An environmental problem related to the discharge of acidic waters resulting from the weathering of sulfide minerals, such as iron pyrite, associated with coal and sulfide mineralization of important metals, such as copper, silver, and zinc.`

Question 14

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

Answer 14

A measure of the amount of oxygen necessary to decompose organic materials in a unit volume of water. As the amount of organic waste in water increases, more oxygen is used, resulting in a higher BOD.

Question 15

Cultural eutrophication

Answer 15

Rapid increase in the abundance of plant life, particularly algae, in freshwater or marine environments resulting from input of nutrients from human sources to the water.

Question 16

Nonpoint sources

Answer 16

Diffused and intermittent sources of air or water pollutants.

Question 17

point source

Answer 17

Usually discrete and confined sources of air or water pollutants such as pipes that enter into a stream or river or stacks emitting waste from factories or other facilities into the atmosphere.

Question 18

Pollutant

Answer 18

Any substance in the environment that in excess is known to be harmful to people or other desirable living organisms.

Question 19

pollution

Answer 19

Any substance, biological or chemical, of which an identified excess is known to be detrimental to desirable living organisms.

Question 20

reclaimed water

Answer 20

Water that has been treated by wastewater handling facilities and may be used for other purposes on discharge, such as irrigation of golf courses or croplands.

Question 21

Septic tank

Answer 21

Tank that receives and temporarily holds solid and liquid waste. Anaerobic bacterial activity breaks down the waste, solid wastes are separated out, and liquid waste from the tank overflows into a drainage system.

Question 22

wastewater renovation and conservation cycle

Answer 22

A process of recycling liquid waste that includes return of treated wastewater to crops or irrigation and continued renovation through recharge of groundwater; the reused part involves pumping out the groundwater for municipal, industrial, or other purposes.

Question 23

water pollution

Answer 23

Degradation of water quality as measured by biological, chemical, or physical criteria.