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Quick access to information based on government’s structure

  • Water Stewardship Division
  • Ministry of Environment
  • Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
  • B.C. Government Directory
  • Ministries and Organizations
  • Other Levels of Government

Water Smart Quiz

  1. What are the key elements in the hydrologic (water) cycle?
    1. Condensation, precipitation, surface water, groundwater, transpiration & evaporation
    2. Evaporation/Transpiration, Condensation, Precipitation, Runoff, Infiltration
    3. Damming, Pumping, Piping, Storing, Consuming
    4. Efficiency, Effectiveness, Efficacy, Accuracy, Precision
    (a) is the correct answer. The hydrologic cycle is necessary for life on Earth to function, disruption of one or more elements of that cycle (e.g. damming rivers, depleting aquifers, paving over land) can have drastic negative impacts on the whole system.
  2. If you live in B.C., what would be the sources of the water in your taps?
    1. Pacific Ocean
    2. Surface water i.e. lakes, rivers
    3. Groundwater
    4. Purple Rain
    5. A mix of b & c
    (e) is the correct answer. Depending on where you live in the province you may only draw groundwater from a well, however, it is important to remember the strong interconnection between surface and groundwater, and that drawing from one can affect the other.
  3. The amount of water on the Earth is finite, i.e. there is the same quantity of water now as there was when the Earth was first formed.
    1. True
    2. False
    True is the correct answer. The amount of water on Earth never changes but its form and location moves around the earth in rivers, aquifers, oceans and clouds. The total volume of water on earth (including salty water) is about 1.4 billion km3.
  4. Ways you can reduce your water consumption include?
    1. Reduce lawn watering
    2. Switch from the typical grass lawn to drought-tolerant species
    3. Reduce your shower time to less than five minutes
    4. Collect rain water in order to water your garden
    5. All of the above
    (e) is the correct answer. An average garden hose pours out 20 litres of water per minute! A lot of water can be wasted when gardening or washing the car if you don't turn it off.
  5. What can be included in “Water saving technologies”?
    1. Low flow showerheads
    2. A large fire hose to water your garden
    3. Low flow and/or dual flush toilets
    4. Purple pipes
    5. a & c & d
    (e) is the correct answer. A water saving toilet (6 litres per flush) can save you up to 14 litres each time you flush! For the average family that's 25,000 litres per year, with that water you could fill 25 hot tubs!
  6. Wetlands are a key element of a healthy watershed because they:
    1. Buffer floods
    2. Recharge groundwater
    3. Act as natural filters and improve water quality
    4. Provide habitat for fish, birds and wildlife
    5. All of the above
    (e) is the correct answer. Land uses like urban development, mining, forestry, and industrial agriculture all contribute to habitat loss in wetlands.
  7. What is the percentage of readily accessible freshwater in the world?
    1. Less than 1%
    2. 14%
    3. 25%
    4. Limits?! Puhphaw! Let’s melt all the glaciers and icecaps, drain all the oceans and lakes, and consume the very clouds themselves!
    (a) is the correct answer. If all the Earth's water was stored in an 18 litre container, the available freshwater would only fill three teaspoons [0.014784 L or 14.784 ml] where (1 teaspoon (tsp) = 0.004928 litre (L) or 4.928 millilitre (ml).
  8. How old is B.C.’s existing Water Act?
    1. Almost 10 years
    2. Almost 100 years
    3. 10,000 BC
    4. What Water Act?
    (b) is the correct answer. The Water Act is an important piece of legislation and the B.C. government is working on bringing it into the 21st century.
  9. Drinking water from your tap as supplied by your municipality is…?
    1. Cheaper than bottled water
    2. Safer and healthier for you since it is more regulated than bottled water
    3. Better for the environment as you reduce the amount of plastic bottles produced and discarded
    4. All of the above
    (d) is the correct answer. Tap water is better in every way!
  10. Does B.C. really have an abundance of water?
    1. Yes
    2. No
    (d) is the correct answer. Much of that apparent wealth is not accessible to humans, and the distribution of water is not necessarily aligned with the distribution of human populations. Excessive/inappropriate human water consumption can disrupt the hydrologic cycle and lead to negative impacts on the environment and ourselves.
Related Resources
  • Waterbucket