graded A+ updated
What percent of California groundwater is used as a key source of water in a normal water year
based on lecture? - correct answer ✔✔30%
Why is reservoir storage needed in California? - correct answer ✔✔Difference between supply
and demand of the snow pack/rainfall runoff water
What is the lift (in feet) and combined horsepower of the Edmonston Pumping Plant that moves
water over the Tehachapi Mountains to Southern California? - correct answer ✔✔1,926 feet
and 1,120,000 Horsepower
How much water is stored as groundwater in California (reservoir storage is about 40 Million
AF)? - correct answer ✔✔850 million AF
What is one of the greatest issues in California's hydrology? - correct answer ✔✔A majority of
the rain water falls in the northern part of the state, but a majority of the population is in the
southern part of the state.
Assuming you could...roughly how much time would it take to count the water molecules (H2O)
in one small drop of water at a rate of one per second? - correct answer ✔✔300 billion
centuries
From the water allocated to California from the Colorado River in a "normal" year, how much of
the 4.4 million acre-feet allocation is used by agriculture as senior water rights? - correct answer
✔✔87.5%
, Why are nitrates in the groundwater an issue? - correct answer ✔✔Nitrates can cause health
problems such as Blue Baby Syndrome
When were the state water projects constructed in California? - correct answer ✔✔1960s
Assuming the population in California is 39.5 million, how many gallons of water would be
needed to make the food to create 1 hamburger (use the quarter-pounder from lecture) for
lunch for 1 day? Assume grain-fed beef versus grass-fed beef. - correct answer ✔✔23.7 billion
gallons (or about 72,700 Acre-Feet)
How much subsidence has occurred at Mendota, California after groundwater pumping? -
correct answer ✔✔About 30 feet (according to Dr. Poland)
Which of the following represent relatively "new" sources of water in California? - correct
answer ✔✔All of the above
What is one of the biggest issues with the San Francisco Delta? - correct answer ✔✔Seawater
intrusion into Southern California's drinking water system after levee failure
Does drip irrigation save water in most ag operations? - correct answer ✔✔No, it most cases it
will increase water used by 10-15%. This is due to plants doing much better with drip irrigation.
This translates to higher yields but the plants are also transpiring more.
How did California miners in the mid-1800s get the hydraulic mining nozzles to work? - correct
answer ✔✔Hydraulic pressure from upstream water source
According to the Randy Record interview, what is the biggest challenge in the future for the
sustainability/reliability for MET? - correct answer ✔✔Climate change/variability