UMC Environmental Sustainability and Water Conservation 1 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes water that is lost from a distribution system before reaching the customer, including leaks, meter inaccuracies, and unbilled authorized consumption?
- Non-revenue water (Correct answer)
- Reclaimed water
- Grey water
- Demand-side loss
Correct answer: Non-revenue water
Non-revenue water (NRW) is water produced and supplied by a utility that does not generate revenue, encompassing real losses (leaks), apparent losses (meter error, theft), and unbilled authorized use.
Question 2: A utility implements increasing block rates where each higher tier of consumption is priced at a higher rate. What is the primary conservation goal of this rate structure?
- Discourage excessive water use by making high consumption more expensive (Correct answer)
- Ensure all customers pay the same per-gallon rate
- Eliminate fixed charges from customer bills
- Maximize revenue during drought periods only
Correct answer: Discourage excessive water use by making high consumption more expensive
Increasing (tiered) block rates are designed to discourage excessive consumption by charging progressively higher prices for each additional unit used beyond the baseline tier.
Question 3: Under the EPA's Water Security Initiative, what is the primary purpose of a water audit for a distribution system?
- To quantify system losses and identify opportunities to reduce non-revenue water (Correct answer)
- To set customer billing rates for the next fiscal year
- To document compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act
- To evaluate the utility's financial statements
Correct answer: To quantify system losses and identify opportunities to reduce non-revenue water
A distribution system water audit systematically quantifies all water entering and leaving the system to identify and reduce losses, following the IWA/AWWA water audit methodology.
Question 4: Reclaimed water (recycled water) from a wastewater treatment plant is most commonly reused for which application under current U.S. utility practice?
- Landscape irrigation and industrial cooling (Correct answer)
- Unfiltered potable drinking water
- Aquifer storage without treatment
- Swimming pool maintenance only
Correct answer: Landscape irrigation and industrial cooling
Reclaimed water is most widely used for non-potable applications such as landscape irrigation, agricultural use, and industrial cooling, reducing demand on potable water supplies.
Question 5: Which federal law is the primary regulatory framework governing the quality of drinking water provided by public water systems in the United States?
- Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (Correct answer)
- Clean Water Act (CWA)
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Correct answer: Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), administered by the EPA, sets national standards for public drinking water quality and regulates public water systems.
Question 6: A utility's demand-side management (DSM) program offers rebates for high-efficiency washing machines. How does this program primarily benefit the utility?
- It reduces peak demand and defers costly infrastructure expansion (Correct answer)
- It increases wastewater revenues immediately
- It shifts billing responsibility to appliance manufacturers
- It eliminates the need for source water protection
Correct answer: It reduces peak demand and defers costly infrastructure expansion
DSM programs reduce customer water demand, which lowers peak system demand and can defer or eliminate the need for expensive supply-side infrastructure expansion.
Question 7: Source water protection programs are designed to prevent contamination of which water sources?
- Watersheds, aquifers, and surface water bodies that supply public water systems (Correct answer)
- Distribution mains and storage tanks within the utility system
- Customer-owned private wells and cisterns
- Treated water at the point of entry to the home
Correct answer: Watersheds, aquifers, and surface water bodies that supply public water systems
Source water protection focuses on safeguarding the raw water suppliesârivers, lakes, reservoirs, and groundwater aquifersâthat utilities draw from before treatment.
UMC Environmental Sustainability and Water Conservation 1
Which term describes water that is lost from a distribution system before reaching the customer, including leaks, meter inaccuracies, and unbilled authorized consumption?