GEO 2200 - Physical Geography
Exam Questions for Lecture 24: Florida Water Resources.

1. If the water gushing out of the springs along the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers showed an increasing concentration of Nitrate Nitrogen, which of the following would you suspect as being the cause?

    a. Dairy farming that adds nitrates to the surface drainage to the north and northwest of the spring systems.
    b. Septic systems of the semi-rural housing developments in the drainage basins of the rivers.
    c. Atmospheric deposition of NOx, one of the variable atmospheric consitutents.
    d. Nitrogenous fertilizer applications on fields in the drainage basins of the rivers.
    e. All of these sources could be a cause of increasted nitrates in spring water.

2.Water allocations in Florida are managed by

    a. a state-wide board of water governors assisted by technical staff.

    b. the Office of Water in the Department of State.

    c. county water-supply officials.

    d. boards of governors responsible for five water-management districts.

    e. nobody; there is no planned water management in Florida.

 

3. Water management districts in Florida

 

    a. are geographically defined by drainage basins ("watersheds").

    b. have the power to tax property within the respective districts.

    c. have excellent scientific staffs that inform decisions.

    d. have all of these characteristics (except, of course, the "none" option).

    e. have none of these characteristics.
 
4. The major water-supply problem facing Florida today is

 

    a. that Alabama and Georgia withdraw water from the Apalachicola River, reducing freshwater flow to the Florida panhandle.

    b. that the distribution of people and the distribution of available water are not geographically congruent.

    c. that precipitation in the state is highly variable over time.

    d. that the human population of the state is growing so rapidly, and every person uses about 150 gallons per day.

    e. non-existent; Florida has no water-supply problem because there is so much rainfall and such a large aquifer in the state.

5. Which of the following consequences could be attributed to the loss of wetlands in Florida over the past 200 years? (you may have to look this up in Christopherson, or even on the WWW, using the search terms "wetland functions")

    a. Decrease of water quality in the Floridan aquifer.
    b. Decrease in water quantity in the Miami area.
    c. Increase in flood flows in the panhandle.
    d. Decrease in the populations of birds and mammals in south Florida.
    e. All of these consequences could be attributed to the loss of wetlands in Florida.

6. Which of the following is not one of the water management districts of the State of Florida?

    a. Greater Miami-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades Water Management District.
    b. Northwest Florida Water Management District.
    c. Suwannee River Water Management District.
    d. St. Johns River Water Management District.
    e. Southwest Florida Water Management District.

7. The existing water management districts of Florida were originally created to 

    a. manage water within geographic areas determined by drainage basins, and not political boundaries.

    b. manage water within geographic areas determined by political boundaries, and not drainage basins.

    c. manage surface and ground water allocation statewide, and not on a regional or local basis.

    d. restrict the use of water by agriculture so that urban areas could receive more water.

    e. regulate the use of water by urban areas so that agriculture could receive more water.

 

8. Water management districts of Florida are supported financially by

    

    a. taxes on water levied on the users.

    b. property taxes levied on land owners in each district.

    c. direct contributions from private businesses.

    d. public membership dues, much like the Sierra Club or local public radio stations.

    e. federal water-management grants.

 

9. Water laws in the eastern and western U.S. are different. What is their major difference?

 

    a. Wetlands are protected very well in the east, but not at all in the west.

    b. People cannot use river flows in the west because the government owns all the water, but can use river flows in the east because individuals own the water.

    c. There are no differences - all U.S. water law is uniform.

    d. Individual, firms, and government agencies actually own water in the west, but water use is regulated by usufruct rights in the east.

    e. Water law varies state by state, and the differences are not west vs. east but state vs. state.


10. The Council of 100 (http://www.fc100.org/) issued a report in 2003, "Improving Florida’s Water Supply Management Structure: Ensuring and Sustaining Environmentally Sound Water Supplies and Resources to Meet Current and Future Needs (September 2003)" ( see http://www.fc100.org/documents/waterreportfinal.pdf) that stated:

    a. that water resources in Florida were adequate to support the state's population growth for the next 40 years and the current water resources management of five water management districts is the most appropriate method of managing water supply and demand.
    b. that water resources in Florida will not be adequate to support the state's population growth in some regions of the state for the next 20 years and that the state's water resources management system must be revised to allow state-wide water management instead of by individual water management districts.
    c. that water resources in Florida are not adequate now to support the state's population and that the budgets of the state's water resources management system of five water management districts be doubled to more effectively develop more water resources.
    d. that water resources in Florida are not adequate now to support the state's population and that the water supply system be privatized to allow the free market to price water so that demand and supply will be efficiently managed.
    e. that water scarcity is the major problem limiting the state's economic growth, and the state should seek inter-basin water transfers from less populated states such as Alabama and Georgia.

11. One important problem with inter-basin water transfers is that

    a. Water wars - conflict between regions over water - can occur
    b. Water availibility is always variable, even in areas with abundant water, but once a demand is established somewhere else the demand must be met regardless of water availability in the source area.
    c. Water taken from one region and delivered to another is no longer available for natural systems or human use in the source region.
    d. none of these answers is a problem with inter-basin water transfers.
    e. all of these answers (except "none") are problems with inter-basin water transfers.

12. How many gallons of water per day were used per person in the St. Johns River Water Management District in 1995 for agricultural irrigation?


    a. 150
    b. 167
    c. 413
    d. 175
    e. 55

13. What is the best solution to the potential water resources problems in Florida over the next 25 years?

    a. Status quo - continue to manage exactly as we have with water management districts, increasing conservation, and the principle of "local sources first."
    b. State-wide management - eliminate water management districts and allocate water from places in the state that have surpluses to places that need it.
    c. Privatize water - remove government from water resources management, hand it over to private enterprise, and allow the market to determine the price of water.
    d. Develop alternative sources - invest in desalination, in-stream withdrawals, reservoir storages, etc. to maximize the available water.
    e. Nobody knows the best solution, but the people of Florida will have to decide soon how to deal with the potential shortages that are already occurring in some places in some years.