- abandoned well
- a well that has been permanently disconnectedand filled. Most States have rgulations or guidelines for abandoned well to ensure that contamination cannot move from the surface in the aquifer.
List of Glossary Terms
- acute toxicity
- any poisonous effect produced within a short time after exposure to the
toxic compound, usually within 24 to 96 hours
List of Glossary Terms
- alkalinity
- the total measurable bases (OH, HCO3, CO3) in a volume of water;
a measure of a material's capacity to neutralize acids; pH > 7
List of Glossary Terms
- alluvium
- a general term for clay, silt, sand, gravel or similar unconsolidated
material deposited by a stream or other body of running water
List of Glossary Terms
- aquifer
- a water-bearing layer of rock or sediment capable of yielding supplies
of water; typically is unconsolidated deposits or sandstone, limestone or granite. Can be classified as confined or unconfined.
List of Glossary Terms
- aquitard
- underground geological formation that is slightly permeable and yields
inappreciable amounts of water when compared to an aquifer
List of Glossary Terms
- artesian aquifer
- an aquifer that contains water under pressure as a result of hydrostatic
head. For artesian conditions to exist, an aquifer must be overlain by
a confining material and receive a supply of water. The free water
surface stands at a higher elevation than the top of the confining layer
thus if the aquifer is tapped by a well, the water in the well will
raise above the level of the aquifer.
List of Glossary Terms
- artesian well
- a well whose water is supplied by a
artesian aquifer.
List of Glossary Terms
- atmosphere
- the gaseous layer that surrounds the earth (air)
List of Glossary Terms
- available soil moisture
- the portion of water in a soil that can be readily absorbed by plant
roots. It is the amount of water released between in situ field
capacity and the permanent wilting point.
List of Glossary Terms
- bedrock
- a general term for any consolidated rock
List of Glossary Terms
-
best management practices (BMP)
- structural, nonstructural, and managerial techniques recognized to
be the most effective and practical means to reduce surface water and
ground water contamination while still allowing the productive use of
resources.
List of Glossary Terms
- biosphere
- all living organisms (plant and animal life)
List of Glossary Terms
- black water
- water containing liquid and solid human body waste generated through
toilet use
List of Glossary Terms
- bored well
- a well drilled with a large truck-mounted boring auger, usually 12
inches or more in diameter and seldom deeper than 100 feet
List of Glossary Terms
- blue baby syndrome
- blood related condition found in babies due to nitrate poisoning
(poisoning limits blood's ability to carry oxygen thereby causing baby
to look blue hued); known as methelmoglobanemia.
List of Glossary Terms
- calorie
- the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of
water by one degree centigrade
List of Glossary Terms
- capillary fringe
- a zone in the soil just above the watertable that remains saturated or
almost saturated.
List of Glossary Terms
- carcinogenic
- event, condition or effect that produces cancer
List of Glossary Terms
- chlorination
- the application of chlorine to water, sewage, or industrial wastes,
generally to disinfect, to oxidize, or to improve settling.
List of Glossary Terms
- coliform bacteria
- a group of bacteria that mostly inhabits the intestinal tract of humans
and animals, but also found in soil. While harmless in themselves,
coliform bacteria are used as indicators of the possible presence of
pathogenic organisms.
List of Glossary Terms
- condensation
- the process in which water vapor is cooled to the liquid phase
List of Glossary Terms
- confined aquifer
- an aquifer whose upper, and perhaps lower, boundary is defined by a
layer of natural material that does not transmit water readily
List of Glossary Terms
- confining layer
- geological material through which significant quantities of water
can not move; located below unconfined aquifers, above and below
confined aquifers. Also known as a confining bed.
List of Glossary Terms
- consolidated rock
- bedrock
List of Glossary Terms
- consumption
- water that is actually consumed, transpired, or
incorporated into new products as it is used
List of Glossary Terms
- consumptive use
- the total amount of water taken up by vegetation for transpiration or
building of plant tissue, plus the unavoidable evaporation of soil
moisture, snow, and intercepted precipitation associated with vegetal
growth.
List of Glossary Terms
- deep percolation
- water that moves downward through the soil profile below the root zone
and cannot be used by plants
List of Glossary Terms
- degradation
- to wear down, reduce to lower quality, by erosion or reduce the
complexity of a chemical compound
List of Glossary Terms
- depression storage
- water stored in surface depressions and therefore not contributing to
surface runoff
List of Glossary Terms
- dew point
- The temperature to which air must be cooled to cause
condensation of the water vapor it contains. The higher the
dew point, the higher the moisture content of the air.
List of Glossary Terms
- discharge
- the flow of surface water in a stream or canal or the outflow of
ground water from a well, ditch, or spring
List of Glossary Terms
- drainage well
- (1) a well pumped in order to lower the watertable; (2) vertical shaft
to a permeable substratum into which surface and subsurface drainage
is channeled (now illegal)
List of Glossary Terms
- drawdown
- (1)lowering of the watertable, surface water, or piezometric surface
resulting from the withdrawal of water from a well or drain; (2) the
elevation of the static water level (at the well) at a given discharge
List of Glossary Terms
- drilled well
- a well usually 10 inches or less in diameter, drilled with a drilling
rig and cased with steel or plastic pipe. Drilled wells can be of
varying depth.
List of Glossary Terms
- dug well
- a large diameter well dug by hand, usually old and often cased by concrete
or hand-laid bricks. Such wells typically reach less than 50 feet in depth
and are easily and frequently contaminated.
List of Glossary Terms
- effluent
- the discharge of a pollutant in a liquid form, often from a pipe into a stream or river.
List of Glossary Terms
- erosion
- the wearing away of the land surface by running water, wind, ice, or
other geological agents, including such processes as gravitational
creep. Geological erosion is natural occurring erosion over long periods
of time. Accelerated erosion is more rapid than normal erosion and
results primarily from man's activities. Erosion is further classified
by the amount and pattern of soil removal and transport as gully,
interrill, rill, sheet, and splash or raindrop erosion.
List of Glossary Terms
- eutrophication
- the natural or artificial process of nutrient enrichment whereby a water
body becomes filled with aquatic plants and low oxygen content. The low
oxygen level is detrimental to fish.
List of Glossary Terms
- evaporation
- the process in which liquid water is transferred into the atmosphere
List of Glossary Terms
- evapotranspiration
- the combined loss of water to the atmosphere from land and water
surfaces by evaporation and from plants by transpiration
List of Glossary Terms
- grey water
- domestic wastewater other than that containing human excrete such as
sink drainage, washing machine discharge, or bath water
List of Glossary Terms
- ground water
- water occurring in the zone of saturation in an aquifer or soil
List of Glossary Terms
- half life
- the time it takes certain materials, such as persistent pesticides, to
become chemically altered
List of Glossary Terms
- hardness
- a characteristic of water caused by various salts, calcium, magnesium
and iron (e.g. bicarbonates, sulfates, chlorides and nitrates)
hazardous waste which because of it quantity, concentration, or
physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, may cause mortality
(death), injury, or serious illness
List of Glossary Terms
- herbicide
- chemicals used to kill undesirable vegetation
List of Glossary Terms
- hydrograph
- a graph which illustrates hydrologic measurements over a period of
time, such as water level, discharge or velocity
List of Glossary Terms
- hydrologic cycle
- the circulation of water in and on the earth and through earth's
atmosphere through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff,
ground water storage and seepage, and re-evaporation into the atmosphere
List of Glossary Terms
- hydrosphere
- water held in oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, ground water, plants,
animals, soil, and air
List of Glossary Terms
- infiltration
- the downward entry of water through the soil surface into the the soil
List of Glossary Terms
- infiltration rate
- the quantity of water that enters the soil surface in a specified time
interval. Often expressed in volume of water per unit of soil surface
area per unit of time (in/hr, cm/hr).
List of Glossary Terms
- insecticide
- chemicals used to control undesirable insects
List of Glossary Terms
- lagoon
- water impoundment in which organic wastes are stored or stabilized or
both
List of Glossary Terms
- latent heat
- the heat (energy) absorbed or released as water changes between the gas
(water vapor), the liquid (water droplets), and the solid (ice) states
List of Glossary Terms
- LD50
- the dosage of a toxic substance required to kill one half of the
organisms under study in a given period of time
List of Glossary Terms
- leachate
- liquids that have percolated through a soil and that carry substances
in solution or suspension
List of Glossary Terms
- leaching
- the downward transport of dissolved or suspended minerals, fertilizers
and other substances by water passing through a soil or other permeable
material
List of Glossary Terms
- lethal dose (LD)
- the amount of a toxic substance required to cause death of an organism
under study in a given period of time
List of Glossary Terms
- lithosphere
- a general term for the outer layer of the earth
List of Glossary Terms
- loess
- a wind blown deposit of silty soil having little or no stratification.
List of Glossary Terms
- manure
- the fecal and urinary defecation of livestock and poultry
List of Glossary Terms
- MCL
- maximum contaminant level, the maximum concentration of specific
contaminants that is allowed under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act
List of Glossary Terms
- nitrate (NO3)
- an important plant nutrient and type of inorganic fertilizer (most
highly oxidized phase in the nitrogen cycle). In water, the major
sources of nitrates are septic tanks, feed lots and fertilizers.
List of Glossary Terms
- nitrite (NO2)
- product in the first step of the two-step process of conversion of
ammonium (NH4) to nitrate (NO3)
List of Glossary Terms
- non-point source
pollution
- pollution of the water from numerous widespread locations that are hard
to identify and pin-point. Ex. agri-chemicals through leaching or runoff
List of Glossary Terms
- non-transient non-community water systems
- public water system which:
- serves 15 or more service connections that are used by the same person for at least 6 months per year; or
- serves the same 25 or more persons for at least 6 months per year
Examples of NTNC water systems include schools, churches, and workplaces. The same individuals use the water from month to month, but do not live at this facility.
List of Glossary Terms
- organic compounds
- natural or synthetic substances based on carbon
List of Glossary Terms
- overwithdrawl
- withdrawal of ground water over a period of
time that exceeds the recharge rate of the supply aquifer
List of Glossary Terms
- perched aquifer
- an aquifer containing unconfined (unpressurized) ground water held above a
lower body of ground water by an unsaturated zone; often a result of clay
lenses in the soil strata
List of Glossary Terms
- percolation
- water that moves through the soil at a depth below the root zone
List of Glossary Terms
- permeability
- the degree to which soils and rock are interconnected, depends upon size and shape of pores; size and shape of interconnections and their extent
List of Glossary Terms
- pesticide
- a chemical substance used to kill or control pests such as weeds,
insects, fungus, mites, algae, rodents, and other undesirable agents
List of Glossary Terms
- pH
- a numerical measure of acidity, or hydrogen ion activity used to
express acidity or alkalinity; neutral is pH 7.0, values below 7.0
are acid, and above 7.0 are alkaline
List of Glossary Terms
- point-source pollution
- pollution of water from one place in a concentrated manner that is easy
to identify. Ex. leaking underground storage tank or discharge pipe
from a sewage treatment plant.
List of Glossary Terms
- pollution plume
- an area of a stream or aquifer containing degraded water resulting from
migration of a pollutant
List of Glossary Terms
- porosity
- the degree to which the total volume of soil, gravel, sediment or rock
is permeated with pores or cavities through which fluids (including
air) can move
List of Glossary Terms
- potable water
- water that is fit to drink
List of Glossary Terms
- ppm
- parts-per-million; a common basis for reporting water analysis. One ppm
equals one unit of measurement per million units of the same
measurement.
List of Glossary Terms
- precipitation
- moisture falling from the atmosphere in the form of rain, snow, sleet or
hail
List of Glossary Terms
- principal aquifer
- the aquifer in a given area that is the important economic source of
water to wells for drinking, irrigation, etc.
List of Glossary Terms
- recharge zones
- the area of land that allow water to replenish an aquifer;
this process occurs naturally when rainfall filters down through the
soil or rock into an aquifer, usually in the higher gradient section
overlying the aquifer; artificial recharge is through injection wells
or by spreading water over ground water reservoirs reservoir
for any given area
List of Glossary Terms
- reverse osmosis
- treatment that uses a very fine molecular sieve that permits water to
pass through but not contaminants. Useful for nitrate removal.
List of Glossary Terms
- root zone
- the depth of soil penetrated by crop roots
List of Glossary Terms
- runoff
- the flow of water from the land to oceans or interior basins
by overland flow and stream channels
List of Glossary Terms
- salinity
- the concentration of dissolved salts in water
List of Glossary Terms
- salt-water intrusion
- process by which an aquifer is over drafted creating a flow imbalance
within an area that results in salt water encroaching into fresh-water
supply
List of Glossary Terms
- secondary aquifer
- any aquifer that is not the main source of water to wells in a given
area - includes shallow and perched aquifers
List of Glossary Terms
- spring
- a place where ground water naturally comes to the surface
resulting from the watertable meeting the land surface
List of Glossary Terms
- sole source aquifer
- designated under the Safe Drinking Water Amendments (1986),
an aquifer of critical
value as the main or only supplier of drinking water for a specific area
List of Glossary Terms
- sorb
- to take up and hold either by absorption or adsorption
List of Glossary Terms
- surface water
- water found over the land surface in streams, ponds, marshes,
List of Glossary Terms
- total dissolved solids
- the total amount in milligrams of solid material dissolved in one liter
of water (mg/l)
List of Glossary Terms
- transient non-community water systems
- public water system which:
- serves 15 or more service connections but does not serve 15 service connections used by the samee persons for more than six months per year; or
- serves an average of at least 25 persons per day for at least 60 days per year, but doesn't serve the same 25 persons for more than 6 months per year.
Examples of TNC water systems include campgrounds, rest stops, parks, or restaurants. Different individuals use the water from one day to the next, and they do not live at this facility.
List of Glossary Terms
- transmissivity
- a measure of the ability of an aquifer to transmit water
List of Glossary Terms
- turbidity
- a measure of water cloudiness caused by suspended solids
List of Glossary Terms
- unconfined aquifer
- an aquifer in which the water table is a t or near atmosphere pressure; the aquifer may or may not be saturated to the top of the aquifer
List of Glossary Terms
- underground storage tank (UST)
- a tank system, including its piping, that has at least 10% of its
volume underground
List of Glossary Terms
- volatile organic compound
- a carbon based substance which wastes away on exposure to the atmosphere
List of Glossary Terms
- volatization
- loss of a substance through evaporation or sublimation. When manure is spread on a field, ammonia-nitrogen in the manure may volatize quickly and be lost as fertilizer unless it is incorporated into the soil.
List of Glossary Terms
- water budget
- The depth of annual precipitation to cover an area. In the
U.S. it is 30 inches.
List of Glossary Terms
- watershed
- all land and water within the confines of a drainage divide
List of Glossary Terms
- water table
- the water level of an unconfined aquifer,
below which the pore spaces are generally saturated
List of Glossary Terms
- water table aquifer
- an aquifer whose whose upper boundary is the
water table; also known as an unconfined aquifer
List of Glossary Terms
- water table well
- a well whose water is supplied by a
water table or confined aquifer
List of Glossary Terms
- withdrawal
- water withdrawal from the surface and ground water sources for various
human uses