Science Watershed Vocab Flashcards
Algae
Simple, photosynthetic aquatic plants that lack true roots, stems, or leaves
Algal Blooms
Extensive growth of algae in a body of water, often due to increased nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. The decomposition of the dead algae requires oxygen, often depleting available supplies.
Animal Wastes
Pet, livestock, or poultry wastes
Aquatic
Having to do with water; for example, aquatic ecosystem
Atmosphere
The entire mass of air surrounding the Earth
Benthic
Of, or pertaining to, the collection of organisms living on it in sea, lake, River, or stream bottoms
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Structural, vegetative, or management practices designed to control, prevent, remove, or reduce pollution
Catchment
A catching or collecting of water, especially rainwater; a basin of structure used for collecting water
Clean Water Act
Passed in 1972, it is the cornerstone of the surface water quality protection in the US with the goal of restoring and maintains the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters in order to support “the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation.”
Combined Sewer System
A system of pipes that collects both storm water and household wastes and transports them to a wastewater treatment plant. Combined sewer systems may fill to capacity during large precipitation events, resulting in untreated sewage being discharged directly to rivers or lakes
Commercial
Having to do with businesses or places of commerce that provide a product or service, such as motels, hotels, restaurants, stores, malls, etc.
Conservation
Careful and efficient use of a natural resource
Consumptive Use
That part of water withdrawn that is evaporated, transpired by plants, incorporated into products or crops, consumed by humans or livestock, or otherwise removed from the local environment
Contaminant
A substance of natural or human origin found in the air, water, or land that causes harm
Culvert
A pope that water moves through, typically providing passage for a small stream under a road
Direct Water Use
Water that is used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, irrigating, etc.
Discharge
The volume of water that passes a given location within a given period of time, usually recorded in cubic feet per second
Dissolved Oxygen
The amount of oxygen in water that can be used by animals and plants
Drainage Basin
The land area that precipitation or snowmelt runs off to a particular stream, River, or lake. A drainage basin is also called a watershed. Large watersheds, like the Mississippi River basin, contain many smaller sub-watersheds
Drainage Divide
Highest point or ridge separating two watersheds
Effluent
Water that flows from a sewage treatment plant after it has been treated
Elevation
Height above sea level
Erosion
The wearing away of land surfaces by running water, wind, or glaciers. Erosion occurs naturally from weather or runoff, but can be accelerated by land clearing practices, such as residential, commercial or industrial development, road-building, timber cutting, or other activities.
Eutrophication
The enrichment of water with nutrients, usually phosphorous and nitrogen, which stimulates the growth of algal blooms and rooted aquatic vegetation
Fertilizer
A substance that promotes the growth of plants on land or in the water. Usually contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)
Fecal Coliform
Bacteria that are found in excrement (animal wastes) or sewage contamination, occurring naturally in the digestive tract of humans and animals to aid in the digestion of food
Flood
When water exceeds the capacity of the channel and overflows onto land next to a stream or River not normally covered by water
Flood plain
A flat area adjacent to a stream channel that is periodically covered by flood overflows
Gradient
Change in vertical elevation over a specific horizontal distance
Headwaters
The source or beginning of a stream or River
Hydrology
Study of the quantity, distribution, movement, and effects of water on the Earth’s surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere
Impervious
Not allowing water to pass through
Indirect water use
Human use of products that required water to grow or manufacture them
Industrial
Having to do with the extraction of resources or the manufacture of foods, such as steel, chemicals, paper, and petroleum refining
Infiltration
Movement of water from the land surface into the soil or groundwater
Land Use
The way Hamas use the land, such as industry, residential, commercial, recreation, etc.
Macro invertebrate
An organism that does not have a backbone and is large enough to be seen by the unaided eye
Meander
A curve in a stream, also called sinuosity
Mouth
The sire where a stream or River empties into a larger river, lake, or ocean
Municipal
Having to do with a city
Nitrates
A form of nitrogen that plants can take up through their roots and use for growth
Non-point source pollution
Pollution whose sources cannot be traced to a single point, but whose pollutants reach water bodies in runoff, such as pesticides and fertilizers running off lawns and farm fields, animal wastes from farms, dirt and oil on roads that runs into lakes and streams after a rainstorm, etc.
Nutrients
Substances such as nitrogen and phosphorus that promote plant growth
Peak flow
The maximum discharge of a stream or River at a given location
Pervious
Allowing water to pass through or seep into
Pesticide
A substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest; of or example an insect or unwanted plant (weed)
Point source pollution
Pollution, or pollutants, that can be traced to a single source, such as discharge from a factory, combined sewer overflow, a person dumping used motor oil into a lake, etc.
Pollutant
Any substance introduced to the environment that adversely affects the usefulness of the resource
Precipitation
Any form of water, such as rain, sleet, snow or hail, which falls to the Earth’s surface
Public Water system
A water system that has at least five service connections, or which serves 25 or more individuals for at least 60 days per year
Rain garden
An attractive landscaping feature planted with perennial native plants planted in a bowl-shaped garden that is designed to absorb storm water runoff from adjacent impervious surfaces such as roofs and parking lots, in order to reduce the amount of untreated storm water reaching streams, rivers, and lakes
Raw sewage
Untreated human wastes
Residential
Having to do with where people live
Riparian area
Land adjacent to a stream or River that supports a greater diversity of plants and animals due to the greater availability of water and higher water table
River
Flowing water of considerable volume, larger than a brook, stream, or creek
Runoff
Precipitation or snow melt that tables over the land surface to enter streams, Rivers, lakes, and storm drains
Sanitary Sewer
System of pipes that transports human wastes from households and commercial establishments
Sediment
Earth martial that is carried into a stream that is either deposited on the stream channel bottom or suspended in the water
Septic System
System that includes a tank for holding household wastes that allows the settling of solids prior to distribution to a leach field for soil absorption
Sewer
A system of underground pipes that collect and deliver wastewater to treatment facilities
Stewardship
To take care of something
Storm drain
Collects storm water runoff and transports it to a lake or river
Storm sewer
A sewer that carries surface runoff and snow melt from the land, completely separate from those that carry domestic and commercial wastewater (sanitary sewers) to a wastewater treatment facility
Storm water
Water runoff after a storm or precipitation event
Stream
A channel with defined bed and banks that carries water during all or part of the year
Stream flow
Water flowing in a natural channel, also called discharge
Sub-watershed
Land area that drains runoff to a stream that is a tributary to a larger River or lake and its watershed
Surface water
Water that is on Earth’s surface, such as in a stream, River, lake, or reservoir
Tributary
A stream or River that flows into a larger stream, River, or lake
Turbidity
A measure of the clarity of water
Wastewater
Water that has been used in homes, industries, or businesses that is not for reuse unless treated
Water quality
A term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its suitability to a particular use
Water Quality Standards
Standards established by the EPA to protect public health by limiting the level of contaminants allowed in drinking water
Water use
Water that is used for a specific purpose, such as for domestic use, irrigation, or industrial processing
Watershed
The region draining into a river, River system, or other body of water. All of the area of land that drains to a particular body of water
Aerial Photo
Photo taken from above, either while flying overhead or from a satellite
