Class D Water Exam TCEQ Questions And Answers

T/F: In Texas, about 75% of all water is used for commercial, industrial, or agricultural purposes. - True Water covers approximately ________ of Earth's surface. - 71% Drought is an extended period when a region receives a deficiency in its ________ water supply. - atmospheric, ground, or surface T/F: Only about 1 gallon of tap water per person/day is used for drinking and cooking - True Excluding outside water use, the average household uses about _______ gallons of water per month for inside use - 2,000 T/F: Only 3% of all the fresh water on earth can be easily accessed for use. - False (only 1%) T/F: In 1978, the Texas Department of Health (TDH) assumed primacy over the Safe Drinking Water Act from the EPA. - True T/F: PWS officials should be pro-active in their approach to terrorism. - True _________ permits the owner of a well to pump as much water as desired, even if the water is drained from beneath the land of others. - Rule of Capture In Texas, agricultural water demand accounts for about ___% of the total water used. - 57% T/F: An example of a non-transient non-community PWS is a rural school. - True Monitoring average and maximum daily water ______ enables us to plan ahead for growth. - Demand T/F: The Safe Drinking Water Act sets standards for drinking water including physical, chemical, bacteriological, and radiological characteristics. - True "Potable" means water is safe to drink and has a measurable chlorine ________. - Residual The plant operator is responsible for a sufficient supply of safe and ________ drinking water. - Palatable T/F: The Texas State Board of Fire Insurance requires utilities that provide fire protection to have a minimum amount of water available based on 30 gals per person per day. - False (130 gals per person per day) T/F: The primary state regulator of water utilities is the TCEQ. - True T/F: All community and non-transient non-community PWS, regardless of source of water, must be under the supervision of a licensed water works operator. - True Meter readers bring in operating revenue and profoundly impact _____ relations. - Public The federal regulator of drinking water is the _____. - EPA T/F: Duties of distribution operator include repairing leaks, making taps, flushing mains, and taking radiological samples. - False (Repair leaks, Make taps, Flush mains, Operate pumps, Take *bacteriological* samples) A service area has 1000 service connections. What can we estimate the population of this service area to be? - 3,000 (multiply connections x 3) T/F: The State must be notified after an existing facility is changed or after construction of a new facility. - False (must notify *before*) T/F: A Class "D" license is valid for 2 years at ground and purchase water systems with 250 connections or less. - False (3 years) T/F: The physical characteristics of water are color, taste, odor, temperature, and turbidity. - True An alkaline or basic solution has a pH greater than ____. - 7 T/F: The terms mg/L and ppm are not interchangeable. - False (they are interchangeable) Suspended solids in water cannot be filtered out. - False (they can) Solids, water hardness, pH and gases are ____ characteristics. - Chemical T/F: There are 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom in each water molecule. - True T/F: The State recommends a water pH of less than 7 to be maintained at all time. - False (The state recommends a pH slightly greater than 7 and for the water to be non-corrosive.) T/F: Taste and odor can come from organisms such as vegetation, bacteria, and algae, and from certain chemicals and metals. - True T/F: The deeper the well, the warmer the water. - True T/F: The threshold odor number (TON) relates to the number of dilutions needed for the water to be tasteless. - False (It reflects the number of dilutions needed for water sample to be *odorless*) One part per million or 1 mg/L means that for every ____ pounds of water there is one pound of material in it. - 1 million The State requires filtered water to be equal to or less than ____ turbidity units in at least 95% of the monthly samples. - 0.3 The State recommends a TON of ___ or less. - 3 T/F: The State recommends 20 color units or less for a quality water. - False (The state recommends 15 units of color or less for drinking water.) T/F: Examples of inorganic matter found in water include rock, sand, metals, and minerals. - True T/F: The red color caused by iron is an example of suspended or apparent color and it can be removed by filtration. - True Excessive calcium and _____ are the primary cause of hardness in water. - Magnesium T/F: The State recommends a maximum total dissolved solids content of 500 mg/L - False (The state recommends that TDS not exceed 1000 mg/L) There are 3 common gases found in water: methane, carbon dioxide, and __________ ___________. - hydrogen sulfide T/F: Turbidity must be limited because it shelters and nourishes bacteria and interferes with disinfection. - True T/F: Bleach or alcohol require less contact time than flaming to disinfect a faucet. - False (flaming requires less contact time) T/F: The "primary limits" refer to chemicals with maximum contaminant levels that can be exceeded. - False (refers to chemicals with maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) that *CANNOT* be exceeded.) T/F: The term "total coliform" means fecal and non-fecal coliform. - True T/F: Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms. - True If a routine sample is positive, flush the positive sample point, check the chlorine residual, then resample within 24 days of notification. - False (If a routine sample is total coliform-positive, the PWS should flush the positive sample point, check the chlorine residual, then resample within *24 hrs* of notification) To prevent the formation of THMS in surface water, chlorine is combined with _____ forming chloramine, combined chlorine residual. - Ammonia If there is no chlorine ______ at a faucet, do not sample, flush longer. - residual T/F: All repeat samples must be collected on successive days. - False (Collect all repeat sample on the same day) In the event of distribution pressure below ___ psi, _______ outages, repeated bad samples or chlorine _____ below minimum, special precautions must be instituted. - 20/water/residual Get the sample to the lab within ___________ or it will be rejected. - 30 hours (for BacT samples) At 0.8 - 1.0 mg/L, fluoride reduces dental cavities, but in higher doeses (>2.0 mg/L) can cause _____ of teeth over time. - mottling T/F: One by-product of chlorinated drinking water is trihalomethane, a suspected carcinogen. - True Repeat samples must be taken at (a) the _______ ______ (b) within 5 connections upstream and (c) within 5 connections downstream. - positive point T/F: If you do not fill out the submission form completely, you risk losing credit for the sample. - True T/F: The presence of fecal coliform in a water sample indicates fecal contamination from a human or warm-blooded animal. - True The purpose of the sample site plan is to assure bacteriological samples are collected from ______ service connections which are representative of the distribution system. - active T/F: Keep the sample in ice or in a cooler prior to and during lab transport because heat stimulates bacterial growth. - True The action level for lead is _______ mg/L and for copper it is _____ mg/L. - .015 / 1.3 T/F: Low doses of heavy metals such as lead and copper can cause damage to the central nervous system over time. - True A certain group of bacteria is used to indicate the possible presence of a pathogen--- the ________ group. - Coliform Disinfection is the destruction of disease-causing microorganisms called ______. - Pathogens At room temperature chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas that is ___ times heavier than air. - 2.5 The State requires ________ to be kept in stock for disinfecting new water lines. - Calcium hypochlorite T/F: Hypochlorinators consist of a mixing tank and chemical solution feed pump. - True A full-face self-contained breathing apparatus or supplied air respirator must be readily accessible outside the fire station when chlorine gas is used. - False (A full-face self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or supplied air respirator that meets OSHA standards shall be readily accessible outside the *chlorinator room* when chlorine gas is used.) T/F: All public water systems must have chlorination facilities. - True If chlorine enters the eyes, flush with running cool water for at least ___ minutes and seek medical attention. - 15 minutes Liquid bleach used in PWS must be ______ approved. - NSF T/F: Primary components of a gas feed chlorinator include an injector, flowrate controller, rotameter, and mixing tank. - False (injector, vacuum regulator, flowrate controller, rotameter- *not a mixing tank*) The maximum sustained gas withdrawal rate for pressure transmission 150 lb cylinders is ____ lbs/day - 40 T/F: Utility operators use chlorine in three commercial forms: 1) pure chlorine in the liquid or gas state 2) bleach solutions 3) granular/tablet compounds - True T/F: If chlorine contacts the skin, flush with an emergency shower or garden hose for at least an hour. - False (15 minutes) Hypochlorous acid is the disinfectant and the _____ residual. - Free If a major chlorine leak occurs, call the supplier and ______. - TCEQ The rotameter indicates the feed rate in _____ per day - pounds T/F: Chlorine reacts with hydrocarbons producing heat or fire - True Chlorinator rooms must be provided with facilities from determining the amount of disinfectant used _______ - daily T/F: Dosage is the amount of chlorine applied in milligrams per liter or parts per billion. - False (parts per million) DPD reacts with chlorine producing a pink to ____ color. - red T/F: Residual is the amount of chlorine left after the demand is met. - True (Dosage: How much Cl you put in the system, Demand: How much Cl is used by the system, Residual: How much Cl is left over) T/F: TCEQ requires a faucet for raw water sampling on the discharge pipe of each PWS well. - True Permeability is the ability to _____ water through the aquifer. - transmit T/F: The difference between the static level and pumping level is call the drawdown. - True Wells dug into artesian aquifers are considered _____ wells. - deep The well screen prevents _____ from entering the well. - sand T/F: Treatment of corrosive groundwater can be accomplished by adding alkalinity as lime or soda ash to adjust the pH. - True T/F: The line shaft turbine is driven by a motor located above the pump at ground level. - True T/F: Well casing supports the bore hole and helps protect the aquifer from contamination. - True T/F: The State requires a physical and chemical analysis of the water after 24 hours of pumping. - False (36 hours) T/F: Some artesian aquifer recharge areas (outcrop) are located many miles away from the well development site. - True (Artesian Wells can be recharged from many miles away) A BacT sample, taken from a newly constructed well, on ____ consecutive days, must show negative results. - 3 Water in an aquifer is called _____ water. - ground T/F: A sanitary control easement covering land within 1500 feet of a public well must be recorded in county courthouse records. - False (150 feet) The casing must extend at least ____ inches above the floor of the pump room or ground surface. - 18 T/F: Aquifers sandwiched between impermeable layers of rock or clay are called confined aquifers or artesian aquifers. - True Three ways to measure water levels is the wetted tape, electric sounder, and the ______. - airline (most often used) A well drilled into a water table aquifer is usually a ______ well. - Shallow Abandoned wells, not plugged, within ___ mile of a proposed well site must be reported to TCEQ. - 1/4 The State requires wells be protected by ______-______ fences or locked well houses. - Intruder-resistant Groundwater is usually clear and void of __________. - bacteria TCEQ defines "complete treatment" as the following sequence of processes: pretreatment disinfection, taste and odor control, continuous coagulation, filtration, sedimentation, terminal disinfection, and covered storage. - False (1. Pretreatment disinfection 2. Taste and odor control 3. Continuous coagulation *4. Sedimentation* *5. Filtration* 6. Terminal disinfection 7. Covered storage) T/F: Most solids should be removed in the filtration step. - False (Sedimentation) T/F: TCEQ requires filtered water to be 0.3 NTUs or less in at least 95% of measurements each month. - True Destratification is the mixing of lake water by compressed air to prevent layers of different __________ from developing. - temperature All PWS in Texas are required to use ________ as the final disinfectant. - chlorine T/F: Powdered activated carbon (PAC) is commonly used to treat iron and manganese. - False (removes the tastes and odors usually caused by dead and decaying *algae* and vegetation) A restricted zone of ______ ft radius from the raw water intake must be established and recreational activities and trespassing shall be prohibited. - 200 T/F: The Rio Grande River is the longest river in Texas, stretching 250 miles along the Mexico border. - False (1250 miles)