Think You Know Water? Test Your Smarts With This Quiz

It’s a new year and time to take stock.

By that I mean, I’m super busy doing tons of paperwork for taxes and fundraisers and board meetings for SJV Water and haven’t had time to write.

So, please enjoy this short Water Quiz (no cheating on the Google machine!) and feel free to talk among yourselves.

1. What is SGMA?

A. The latest K-pop band.
B. California’s new groundwater law that aims to bring over-pumped aquifers in balance.
C. The gunk you find in the drain after you wash a load of dishes.

2. How many gallons are in 1 acre-foot?

A. ~152,000
B. ~326,000
C. ~823,000

3. What do SWP and CVP stand for?

A. Socialist Worker Party and Central Venous Pressure
B. Send Water Please and Cubic Volume Profits
C. State Water Project and Central Valley Project

4. Where does drinking water for most San Joaquin Valley residents come from?

A. Underground
B. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
C. A faucet

5. Which of the below was the most recently completed dam?

A. Isabella
B. Schaefer
C. Friant
D. Pine Flat
E. Hidden
F. Terminus

Bonus No. 1: An extra point to name the river from Question 5

A. San Joaquin
B. Kern
C. Tule
D. Fresno
E. Kings
F. Kaweah

6. What are “biops”?

A. Bionic Optimization Standards
B. Scientific guidelines for operating the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
C. “Dr. Pimple Popper” rejects

7. Which of these items were included in the 2016 “WIIN” act (Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation)?

A. The ability to convert long-term federal water contracts to permanent contracts.
B. A provision allowing native Washington tribes to bury the remains of the ancient Kennewick man, found in 1996.
C. $374 million to restore the LA River.
D. All of the above – and much more.

8. Who financed the construction of the hydro system that now includes the Shaver, Huntington, Florence, Edison, Mammoth Pools, and Redinger lakes?

A. Thomas Edison
B. Henry Huntington
C. Florence Starr

Bonus No. 2: An extra point for naming the year the system in Question 8 began producing power
A. 1945
B. 1913
C. 1933

9. Which entity is in charge of water rights in California?

A. State Water Resources Control Board
B. Department of Water Resources
C. California Bar Association

10. What is the “Corcoran bowl”?

A. An ancient Native American artifact
B. A massive area in the center of the San Joaquin Valley that has sunk from groundwater pumping
C. Moe’s hairstyle

Answers

1. (B), 2. (B), 3. (C), 4. (A), 5. (E), 5-bonus. (D), 6. (B) 7. (D), 8. (B), 8-bonus (B), 9. (A) 10. (B)

Scoring

(1 point for each correct answer)

0-2 — WADER. You probably have other, more useful skills.
3-5 — WATER WINGS. You are learning.
7 — SWIMMER. You’re in the deep end.
10-plus — CERTIFIED WATER GEEK. Or certifiable … ?

About SJV Water

SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site dedicated to covering water in the San Joaquin Valley.