Week 2: Sources and Use of Water

Question 1

How much of the earth’s fresh water is held in polar ice and groundwater?

Answer 1

98%

Question 2

How much of the earth’s fresh water has been estimated to be available for consumption?

Answer 2

0.1%

Question 3

List several types of Fresh Water

Answer 3

• Lakes
• Rivers
• stored ice
• snow
• runoff

Question 4

What is a major environmental impact of desalination?

Answer 4

The average desalination plant produces 1.5 times more brine than desalinated water

Question 5

What is one of the most common desalination processes?

Answer 5

Reverse Osmosis

Question 6

List four ways recycled water can be used

Answer 6

• public parks
• golf course irrigation
• toilet flushing
• concrete mixing

Question 7

What are the three Metro Vancouver water supply sources?

Answer 7

• Capilano
• Seymour
• Coquitlam

Question 8

What is the capacity of the Seymour Capilano Filtration Plant?

Answer 8

1.8 billion liters/day

Question 9

What is a major problem with Canada’s continental watersheds?

Answer 9

Approximately 60% of them drain north

Question 10

What were some of the solutions to Vancouver’s longterm water supply discussed in class?

Answer 10

• Fraser River
• increasing reservoir capacity
• shipping water from further away

Question 11

What are the five main water users in Canada?

Answer 11

• thermal power generation
• manufacturing
• municipal
• agricultural
• mining

Question 12

What are the top five uses of water in the home?

Answer 12

• showers and baths
• toilet flushing
• laundry
• kitchen and drinking
• cleaning

Question 13

What is the average water consumption in Vancouver?

Answer 13

~350 liters/day

Question 14

What was the cause of the Cape Town Water Crisis?

Answer 14

Severe drought several years in a row depleted their reservoirs without replenishing them

Question 15

What was the water restriction Cape Town had to implement for their water crisis?

Answer 15

50 liters/day per person

Question 16

What was Cape Town trying to avoid by utilizing water restrictions?

Answer 16

Day Zero - water shut off and residents line up for water rations

Question 17

List four factors affecting water use

Answer 17

• population
• cost
• geographic location
• economic status of community

Question 18

List the key steps of water treatment

Answer 18

• raw water supply
• flocculation
• settling tank
• filter
• chlorination/UV
• potable water distribution

Question 19

List the keys steps of wastewater treatment

Answer 19

-Pumping station intake

Primary
- grit chamber
- primary settling

Secondary
- biological treatment
- final settling

-surfacewater discharge

Question 20

What are some of the steps used to estimate future demand at a water treatment plant?

Answer 20

• historical water use
• system data
• climate data
• current water use patterns
• projected demographic and climate change

Question 21

What is the difference between Infiltration and Inflow?

Answer 21

Infiltration:
Water is absorbed into the ground and can infiltrate pipes below ground. Also may happen with high groundwater table

Inflow:
From surface-collected water entering sewers

Question 22

What is the peaking factor?

Answer 22

A multiplier used to account for times when flow into wastewater system is higher than average daily flow