Environmental Science, 10th Edition (Cunningham)

Chapter 18: Water Pollution

GE Exercise: Ashokan Reservoir

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Take a virtual field trip with Google Earth!
Google Earth is a free, online application that uses satellite imagery to allow the user to zoom across the globe in a realistic, virtual environment. Downloading Google Earth is free at http://www.earth.google.com.

An overview manual is available by clicking here... Google Earth Overview (342.0K)

To continue:
- Make sure you have the Google Earth software installed and running.
- Copy the following latitude and longitude and paste into the "Fly to" field under the Search tab.
- Hit "Enter" for Google Earth to take you to the specified coordinates, then come back here and read the following overview.

Latitude/Longitude: 41.9403, -74.1984

Overview: Ashokan Reservoir, p. 414

The Ashokan Reservoir is a key part of the water supply of New York City. If you zoom out, you can see the Catskill Mountains, much of which drain into this reservoir and others built for New York. As noted in the What Do You Think? box in this chapter, New York City was faced with building an $8 billion treatment plant to purify its water in the 1980s. Instead, the city has spent $50 million to help local landowners (farmers, residents, businesses, small towns) within the watershed manage their land to minimize polluted runoff into the water supply. The program has been a great success. It saves money, uses less energy, and helps preserve traditional land uses. (The contrasting colors in the east and west arms of the reservoir are an artifact of having satellite images taken at different times.)

1
Move westward from the reservoir; what sort of land use or land cover is dominant in the Catskill Mountains? Now move eastward from the reservoir; what sort of land use or land cover is dominant there?
A)West of the reservoir, farther into the mountains, is mostly farmland, while east of the reservoir, leaving the Catskills, the land is largely urbanized.
B)West of the reservoir, farther into the mountains, is mostly urbanized, while east of the reservoir, leaving the Catskills, the land is largely farmland.
C)West of the reservoir, farther into the mountains, is mostly forest, and east of the reservoir, leaving the Catskills, the land is also largely forested.
D)West of the reservoir, farther into the mountains, is mostly forest, while east of the reservoir, leaving the Catskills, the land is largely farmland or urbanized.
2
If the Catskills were cleared and developed, what would be the effects on water quality for the 12 million New York City residents who rely on clean water from this watershed?
A)More land development in the Catskills would lead to considerably higher levels of sediment and other contaminants in the water.
B)Agriculture could introduce herbicides, pesticides, and nutrients; urbanization could introduce metals, salts, and other contaminants.
C)Expensive water treatment would be necessary to remove these contaminants.
D)All of the effects listed above are accurate.
E)None of the effects listed above are accurate.
3
Find the measuring tool (Tools menu > Measure), and zoom out. How far is it to New York City, as the crow flies?
A)About 150 km
B)About 100 km
C)About 50 km
D)About 10 km
E)About 5 km
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