Water Quality and Conservation Review
1. What are three possible sources of water contamination? __industrial wastes,
mining, sewage, livestock, farming
2. What is the process by which vapor becomes a liquid?
_condensation_______________________________
3. What is the term used to describe the area drained by a river and its tributaries?
________Watershed_____________________
4. Why are we not receiving any water from Lake Texoma? ____zebra mussels
5. What is it called when liquid water changes to a gas? Evaporation
6. What is it called when the moisture in plants is released into the atmosphere as
water vapor? Transpiration
7. A dissolved oxygen content level of 2mg/L indicates what kind of water quality?
(good, fair, etc.) Poor, Eutrophication is occurring, fish will die.
8. Why would a drinking water regulator run an analysis for copper? Because the EPA
has set a MCL of 1.3 mg/L and you will begin to taste it if it gets higher than that.
Extremely high levels can lead to liver damage or anemia
9. What regulatory agency monitors the water quality for the lakes and rivers for the
state of Texas? Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
10. For the two regulatory agencies (TCEQ and EPA) that monitor water quality, which
one do they use to determine if the water is good quality or bad? Which ever
regulation is the most strict
11.What division of the EPA regulates wastewater produced by businesses? National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
12.There are 5 main sources of drinking water for Allen. Four are lakes, the fifth water
source is a Wetlands
13.What is its name? Bunker Sands
14.If there was E. Coli bacteria contamination in the local lake, what might be the
source of the contamination? untreated sewage, livestock waste and other sources of
waste from warm-blooded animals.
15.The “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is caused by Eutrophications.
16.Organic contamination is a main concern for water quality regulators because
organic contaminants cause cancer
17.If a pond has a dissolved oxygen content of 3mg/L, what two contaminates might be
found in the water? Nitrate and phosphate
18.Who is responsible for regulating water quality for large commercial agricultural
industries? No one
19. What does a conductivity test tell you about the water? How many dissolved solids
are in the water
20.What is Eutrophication? Eutrophication generally promotes excessive plant growth
and decay. It causes algae blooms and a severe reduction in water quality
21.Which lake is the main source for our drinking water? Lake Lavon
22. Who technically owns the water in the creek behind our school? The city of Dallas
23.List the four main water pollutant types. Toxic, sediment, nutrient, and bacterial
24.What two types of water pollution come from manure? Nutrient and bacterial
25.What is the definition of a toxic water pollutant? A pollutant that can cause harm to
humans or living things.
26.List three ways you could conserve water inside your house Take shorter showers,
turn the water off when you brush your teeth, wash only full loads of laundry and
dishes, fix leaky faucets.
27.List three ways you could conserve water outside. Do not water from 10 am - 6 pm,
use rain barrels or cistern, make sure that the sprinkler heads are spraying concrete,
plant drought resistant plants.
28. Label a diagram of the water cycle. (Include all 7 stages.)
Condensation
Condensation
Precipitation
Transpiration
Transpiration
Condensation
Transpiration
Transpiration
Surface Run-off
Condensation
Condensation
Transpiration
Transpiration
Subsurface runoff
Surface Run-off
accumulation
Surface Run-off
Condensation
Condensation
Transpiration
Transpiration
evaporation