GEOG 445 - Water and Watershed Resources

Units: 4 ; Breadth Area: GE-UDB
The science, policy and practice of urban water and watershed resources management. Watershed and stream system identification, hydrology, assessment, and restoration. Municipal water systems and their management, water and wastewater treatment, water quality monitoring, stormwater, water conservation, and supply reliability.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Areas B1-B3; and GEOG 200 or ENVT 101.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Equivalent Quarter Course: GEOG 4350 or ENVT 4350.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UDB - Upper Division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
Cross-listed: ENVT 445
Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

identify and explain where our water supply comes from, how it gets to us, and how we use and dispose of it along with the historical precedents for these practices.
identify and articulate the different qualities, values and uses of water - consumptive and non-consumptive, economic and environmental - and the differences and inequities in water supply across regions.
calculate indices of water supply reliability and identify and explain the key components of an urban water management plan.
describe techniques by which domestic, industrial and agricultural water users can conserve water and implement a water conservation and sustainability audit in a residential or workplace setting.
identify watershed limits and quantify key watershed physical dimensions using field observations, topographic maps and aerial photographs.
describe the basic components and dynamics of watershed hydrology and the hydrologic cycle, including concepts such as partial area contribution and the effects of spatial variability and changes in physical characteristics on runoff generation.
recognize the many types and causes of point and non-point source pollution in different watershed settings and describe methods for their prevention.
describe the main methods of streamflow measurement and calculate/plot hydrographs and stage-discharge relationships.
list different sources of water contamination, identify water quality variables and describe how they are affected by different contaminants.
describe the process of water quality assessment and key factors for quality assurance and quality control of field samples.
describe the basic components of urban watershed restoration programs and their objectives, including one or more practical case studies in the San Francisco Bay Area.

UD-B. Upper-division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcomes

demonstrate advanced and/or focused science or quantitative content knowledge in a specific scientific field, using appropriate vocabulary and referencing appropriate concepts (such as models, uncertainties, hypotheses, theories, and technologies);
apply advanced quantitative skills (such as statistics, algebraic solutions, interpretation of graphical data) to scientific problems and evaluate scientific claims;
demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and the experimental and empirical methodologies used in science to investigate a scientific question or issue; and
apply science content knowledge to contemporary scientific issues (e.g., global warming) and technologies (e.g., cloning), where appropriate.