Chapter 20 Concept Check

Which of the following water pollutants is incorrectly paired with its source?

• Oxygen demanding wastes - sewage

• Sediments - unlined landfills

• Heavy metals - mining refuse

• Thermal - electrical power plants

Which of the following is an example of a point source pollutant?

• Ballast water discharge from a ship offshore

• Runoff from parking lots

• Organic waste from cow feedlots

• Nutrients from golf courses and lawns

Which of the following best describes eutrophication?

• The downward motion of water through soil, dissolving minerals along the way

• The increase of a chemical, such as DDT, in the bodies of animals at higher tropic levels

• A process of nature that helps support life, such as rivers purifying the water

• The natural aging process of a shallow lake or slow-moving stream as nutrients enrich the water

Which law sets standards for key water pollutants and requires polluters to get permits limiting what they can discharge into aquatic systems?

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 1969

• Clean Water Act 1977

• Water Pollution Control Act 1972

• Water Quality Act 1987

When groundwater becomes contaminated, it tends to remain contaminated because __.

• it moves too quickly to allow effective clean up

• there is less bacteria in groundwater to perform natural decomposition

• the dissolved oxygen level is too high to facilitate bacterial growth

• we do not have the technology to pump it to the surface