CESSWI Exam UPDATED ACTUAL Questions
and CORRECT Answers | 100% Verified |
2026
• What are the soil classifications based off of? -✓✓ Percent of sand, silt, and clay
present in soil
• How many soil texture classifications are there? -✓✓ 12
• What are the hydrologic soil groups classified based off of? -✓✓ Infiltration rates
• What are the hydrologic soil groups? -✓✓ A, B, C, D
• What are the soil horizons classified based off of? -✓✓ Primary material (eg clay,
organic matter, minerals, parent material (rock), bedrock)
• What are the master horizons? -✓✓ O, A, E, B, C, R
• What are the four types of erosion? -✓✓ Raindrop, sheet, rill & gully, streambank
• Define soil detachment -✓✓ the dislodgment of soil particles from the soil mass
through erosive forces
• Define sediment transport -✓✓ the movement of sediment particles (by water or wind)
once they have been detached
• Define erosion -✓✓ the weathering down of parent material and the detachment by the
action of wind, water, ice and gravity
• What is the erosion rate of soil for a site by water dependent on? -✓✓ on-site
characteristics, soil physical and chemical variables, and land management practices
• what is sediment deposition (sedimentation)? -✓✓ the process by which soil particles
that have been suspended within the water or air column settle back to the ground
surface
• what equation is used to estimate the annual average erosion rate for a site? -✓✓
RUSLE
• Brain Break! (answer a question completely unrelated to stormwater)
,What is the largest desert in the world? -✓✓ Antarctica Desert (don't believe me?
google it!)
• what can sedimentation be a result of? -✓✓ reduced flow rates/flow velocities, higher
frictional forces, increased sediment load within runoff
• site characteristics that directly impact the likelihood for soils to erode: -✓✓ soil type,
vegetative cover, topography, climate
• define hydrology -✓✓ the study of water, including its occurrence, circulation,
distribution, chemical and physical properties, and the reaction of those properties to the
environment
• parameters that characterize the hydrology of a site include; -✓✓ precipitation,
evaporation, infiltration, runoff
• the hydrologic cycle describes the movement of water... -✓✓ above the surface, on the
surface, and below the surface
• the hydrologic cycle is a... -✓✓ continuous process (no start or end)
• water will exist in all 3 states: -✓✓ vapor, liquid, solid
• define watershed (NOAA def): -✓✓ a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to
creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays,
and the ocean
• A specified rainfall depth over a specified duration -✓✓ design storm
• A land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and
eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean -✓✓ watershed
• define slope -✓✓ slope/gradients is defined as a number, typically a %, that describes
the direction and steepness of a surface
• typical method of slope calculation -✓✓ rise over run ( slope% = rise/run )
*to convert the decimal to a whole number, multiply the slope % by one hundred
• other ways of expressing slope include... -✓✓ slope degrees & slope ratios
• slope ratios -✓✓
, • _________ ___________ look at the angle of the slope using a protractor with 90
degrees being completely vertical and 0 degrees being completely horizontal. A 45
degree slope is one (1) horizontal unit to (1) vertical unit. -✓✓ slope degrees
• __________ __________ provides the slope in horizontal units to vertical units. For
instance, a three (3) ft horiz. run with a one (1) ft vert. change would be expressed as a
3:1 slope. -✓✓ slope ratios
• ____________ is the study of fluids, including both fluids in motion and fluids at rest. -
✓✓ Hydrology
• Open channel flow is... -✓✓ concentrated flow within a defined cross-section when the
surface of the water is exposed to the atmosphere (eg channels, canals, streams).
• When designing a culvert and drainage system, a designer should ensure that the
downstream conveyance feature... -✓✓ has the capacity to convey the pipe flows
without overtopping or causing erosion.
• flow control options include... -✓✓ weir flow, orifice flow
• Brain Break! (answer a question completely unrelated to stormwater)
When did many US schools stop teaching cursive? -✓✓ 2010 (stupid Common Core)
• the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act are commonly
referred to as... -✓✓ the Clean Water Act (CWA)
• What is the primary federal statute regulating protection of the nations waters? -✓✓
Clean Water Act
• The Clean Water Act aims to... -✓✓ prevent and reduce pollution & restore and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nations waters
• list of waterbodies that unable to meet water quality standards -✓✓ 303(d) list
• What should be the first consideration when going on site? -✓✓ safety
• An inspector should be aware that a site is ___________ and always ____________. -
✓✓ dynamic, changing
• What can you do to make sure operators have seen you? -✓✓ make eye contact,
wave
and CORRECT Answers | 100% Verified |
2026
• What are the soil classifications based off of? -✓✓ Percent of sand, silt, and clay
present in soil
• How many soil texture classifications are there? -✓✓ 12
• What are the hydrologic soil groups classified based off of? -✓✓ Infiltration rates
• What are the hydrologic soil groups? -✓✓ A, B, C, D
• What are the soil horizons classified based off of? -✓✓ Primary material (eg clay,
organic matter, minerals, parent material (rock), bedrock)
• What are the master horizons? -✓✓ O, A, E, B, C, R
• What are the four types of erosion? -✓✓ Raindrop, sheet, rill & gully, streambank
• Define soil detachment -✓✓ the dislodgment of soil particles from the soil mass
through erosive forces
• Define sediment transport -✓✓ the movement of sediment particles (by water or wind)
once they have been detached
• Define erosion -✓✓ the weathering down of parent material and the detachment by the
action of wind, water, ice and gravity
• What is the erosion rate of soil for a site by water dependent on? -✓✓ on-site
characteristics, soil physical and chemical variables, and land management practices
• what is sediment deposition (sedimentation)? -✓✓ the process by which soil particles
that have been suspended within the water or air column settle back to the ground
surface
• what equation is used to estimate the annual average erosion rate for a site? -✓✓
RUSLE
• Brain Break! (answer a question completely unrelated to stormwater)
,What is the largest desert in the world? -✓✓ Antarctica Desert (don't believe me?
google it!)
• what can sedimentation be a result of? -✓✓ reduced flow rates/flow velocities, higher
frictional forces, increased sediment load within runoff
• site characteristics that directly impact the likelihood for soils to erode: -✓✓ soil type,
vegetative cover, topography, climate
• define hydrology -✓✓ the study of water, including its occurrence, circulation,
distribution, chemical and physical properties, and the reaction of those properties to the
environment
• parameters that characterize the hydrology of a site include; -✓✓ precipitation,
evaporation, infiltration, runoff
• the hydrologic cycle describes the movement of water... -✓✓ above the surface, on the
surface, and below the surface
• the hydrologic cycle is a... -✓✓ continuous process (no start or end)
• water will exist in all 3 states: -✓✓ vapor, liquid, solid
• define watershed (NOAA def): -✓✓ a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to
creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays,
and the ocean
• A specified rainfall depth over a specified duration -✓✓ design storm
• A land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and
eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean -✓✓ watershed
• define slope -✓✓ slope/gradients is defined as a number, typically a %, that describes
the direction and steepness of a surface
• typical method of slope calculation -✓✓ rise over run ( slope% = rise/run )
*to convert the decimal to a whole number, multiply the slope % by one hundred
• other ways of expressing slope include... -✓✓ slope degrees & slope ratios
• slope ratios -✓✓
, • _________ ___________ look at the angle of the slope using a protractor with 90
degrees being completely vertical and 0 degrees being completely horizontal. A 45
degree slope is one (1) horizontal unit to (1) vertical unit. -✓✓ slope degrees
• __________ __________ provides the slope in horizontal units to vertical units. For
instance, a three (3) ft horiz. run with a one (1) ft vert. change would be expressed as a
3:1 slope. -✓✓ slope ratios
• ____________ is the study of fluids, including both fluids in motion and fluids at rest. -
✓✓ Hydrology
• Open channel flow is... -✓✓ concentrated flow within a defined cross-section when the
surface of the water is exposed to the atmosphere (eg channels, canals, streams).
• When designing a culvert and drainage system, a designer should ensure that the
downstream conveyance feature... -✓✓ has the capacity to convey the pipe flows
without overtopping or causing erosion.
• flow control options include... -✓✓ weir flow, orifice flow
• Brain Break! (answer a question completely unrelated to stormwater)
When did many US schools stop teaching cursive? -✓✓ 2010 (stupid Common Core)
• the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act are commonly
referred to as... -✓✓ the Clean Water Act (CWA)
• What is the primary federal statute regulating protection of the nations waters? -✓✓
Clean Water Act
• The Clean Water Act aims to... -✓✓ prevent and reduce pollution & restore and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nations waters
• list of waterbodies that unable to meet water quality standards -✓✓ 303(d) list
• What should be the first consideration when going on site? -✓✓ safety
• An inspector should be aware that a site is ___________ and always ____________. -
✓✓ dynamic, changing
• What can you do to make sure operators have seen you? -✓✓ make eye contact,
wave
