Question | Answer |
Surface water | lakes, rivers, streams, percolates through ground to form groundwater, less than one percent of all water on Earth |
Fresh water | water has been diverted to areas to make them habitable, used to manufacture, dispose of waste, and generate power, mostly frozen in ice caps |
Groundwater | difficult to clean (deep in ground, pollutants cling to materials, recycling takes thousands of years), |
Water treatment process | Chlorine kills bacteria |
Shortage of freshwater | prevented by conserving water, education, new ways to produce freshwater |
Water conservation | use low flow showerheads and take short showers |
Point source | Pollution from a single source |
Nonpoint source | agricultural runoff |
Pathogen | disease causing bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms |
Watershed | large area of land drained by a river, largest in US is Mississippi River |
Large cities | get water from rivers and lakes |
Phosphates | may cause fish to suffocate and die |
Plastic trash | eaten by turtles, strangle birds, entangle sea mammals |
Dams | less built because of environmental considerations, create energy, change land behind because of a change in flow |
Water pollution | magnifies over time in food chains |
Thermal pollution | decreases oxygen |
Reservoir | artificial lake created by a dam |
Aquifer | underground rock formation that holds water |
Recharge zone | area of land through which water percolates to be stored as groundwater |
Desalination | removes salt from salt water |
Biomagnification | accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain |
Eutrophication | nutrients increase in a lake causing oxygen levels to decrease |
Water cycle | continuous movement of water between the Earth and atmosphere |
Ogallala Aquifer | supplies 1/3 of all the groundwater in the US |
Well | hole that is dug to reach groundwater |
Industrial water use | highest in Europe and America |
Potable | water that is safe to drink |
Xeriscaping | landscaping with minimal water use |
Water Pollution | introduction of chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrade the quality |
Ocean Pollution | mainly from land activities |