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1. Acid - a substance that has a ph of less than 7, which is neutral.

Specifically, an acid
has more free hydrogen ions (H+) than hydroxyl ions (OH-).
2. Alkalinity--the capacity of water for neutralizing an acid solution.
3. Alluvium--deposits of clay, silt, sand, gravel, or other particulate material that has
been deposited by a stream or other body of running water in a streambed, on a
flood plain, on a delta, or at the base of a mountain.
4. Aqueduct--a pipe, conduit, or channel designed to transport water from a remote
source, usually by gravity.
5. Aquifer--a geologic formation(s) that is water bearing. A geological formation or
structure that stores and/or transmits water, such as to wells and springs. Use of the
term is usually restricted to those water-bearing formations capable of yielding
water in sufficient quantity to constitute a usable supply for people's uses.
6. Artesian water--groundwater that is under pressure when tapped by a well and is
able to rise above the level at which it is first encountered. It may or may not flow
out at ground level. The pressure in such an aquifer commonly is called artesian
pressure, and the formation containing artesian water is an artesian aquifer or
confined aquifer.
7. Artificial recharge - a process where water is put back into groundwater storage
from surface-water supplies such as irrigation, or induced infiltration from streams
or wells.
8. Base flow--sustained flow of a stream in the absence of direct runoff. It includes
natural and human-induced streamflows. Natural base flow is sustained largely by
groundwater discharges.
9. Base--a substance that has a ph of more than 7, which is neutral. A base has less free
hydrogen ions (H+) than hydroxyl ions (OH-).
10. Bedrock--the solid rock beneath the soil and superficial rock. A general term for
solid rock that lies beneath soil, loose sediments, or other unconsolidated material.
11. Channel (watercourse) - An open conduit either naturally or artificially created
which periodically or continuously contains moving water, or which forms a
connecting link between two bodies of water. River, creek, run, branch, anabranch,
and tributary are some of the terms used to describe natural channels. Natural
channels may be single or braided. Canal and floodway are terms used to describe
artificial channels.
12. Condensation--the process of water vapor in the air turning into liquid water. Water
drops on the outside of a cold glass of water are condensed water. Condensation is

the opposite process of evaporation.


13. Conservation - 1.) The planning, management, and implementation of an activity
with the objective of protecting the essential physical, chemical, and biological
characteristics of the environment against degradation. 2. )The process of managing
biological resources (e.g., timber, fish) to ensure replacement by re-growth or
reproduction of the part harvested before another harvest occurs. A balance between
economic growth and environmental and natural resource protection.
14. Consumptive Use - The balance of water taken from a source that is not entirely or
directly returned to that source. For example, if water is taken from a lake to feed
cattle, it is considered a consumptive use of water. (GWMT) Contaminant Pollutant
A substance that, in a sufficient concentration, will render water, land, fish, or other
things unusable or harmful.
15. Dam - A barrier constructed on a water body for storage, control, or diversion
purposes. A dam may be constructed across a natural watercourse or on the
periphery of a reservoir. Natural barriers formed by ice, landslides, or earthquakes
are excluded.
16. Deep-Well Injection - Deposition of raw or treated, filtered hazardous waste by
pumping it into deep wells, where it is contained in the pores of permeable
subsurface rock.
17. Dike (levee) - A long low embankment dam. The term is usually applied to auxiliary
dams used to close off areas that would otherwise be flooded by the reservoir.
(ISDG) Discharge Refers to the outflow, and is used as a measure of the rate at
which a volume of water passes a given point. Therefore, the use of this term is not
restricted as to course or location, and it can be used to describe the flow of water
from a pipe or a drainage basin.
18. Disposal Water - Produced water from oil, gas, and crude bitumen production that
is injected into deep underground formations for disposal. The Energy and Utilities
Board must approve this activity.
19. Dissolved Oxygen - A measurement of the amount of oxygen available to aquatic
organisms. Temperature, salinity, organic matter, biochemical oxygen demand, and
chemical oxygen demand affect dissolved oxygen solubility in water.
20. Diversion of Water (Water Allocation, Water Licence) 1.) The impoundment,
storage, consumption, taking or removal of water for any purpose. This does not
include removal for the sole purpose of removing an ice jam, drainage, flood
control, erosion control or channel realignment. 2. ) The transfer of water from a
stream, lake, aquifer, or other source of water by a canal, pipe, well, or other conduit
to another watercourse or to the land, as in the case of an irrigation system. Also, a
turning aside or alteration of the natural course of a flow of water, normally
considered physically to leave the natural channel.
21. Domestic Wastewater A composite of liquid and water-carried wastes associated
with the use of water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, washing, hygiene, sanitation
or other domestic purposes, together with any infiltration and inflow wastewater that
is released into a wastewater collection system.
22. Domestic Water Use Water used for drinking, cooking, washing, and yard use.
23. Drain - A conduit, channel, or other structure constructed or used to carry water or

wastewater by gravity or pumping.


24. Drainage Basin - The total area of land that contributes water and materials to a
lake, river, or other water body, either through streams or by localized overland
runoff along shorelines.
25. Drinking Water - Water that has been treated to provincial standards and is fit for
human consumption.
26. Drought - Periods of less than average precipitation over a certain period of time.
Drought is naturally occurring and can cause imbalances in the hydrologic system.
27. Dry Pond - Relief systems that provide a diversion of excess flow from a storm
sewer trunk to an impoundment for temporary storage. A dry pond is often a
playground or other open space not normally covered by water. A dry pond reduces
flooding downstream.
28. Effluent--water that flows from a sewage treatment plant after it has been treated.
29. Erosion--the process in which a material is worn away by a stream of liquid (water)
or air, often due to the presence of abrasive particles in the stream.
30. Estuary--a place where fresh and salt water mix, such as a bay, salt marsh, or where
a river enters an ocean.
31. Evaporation--the process of liquid water becoming water vapor, including
vaporization from water surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from leaf
surfaces.
32. Flood--An overflow of water onto lands that are used or usable by man and not
normally covered by water. Floods have two essential characteristics: The
inundation of land is temporary; and the land is adjacent to and inundated by
overflow from a river, stream, lake, or ocean.
33. Floodway--The channel of a river or stream and the parts of the floodplain
adjoining the channel that are reasonably required to efficiently carry and discharge
the flood water or flood flow of a river or stream.
34. Groundwater - All water under the surface of the ground whether in liquid or solid
state. It originates from rainfall or snowmelt that penetrates the layer of soil just
below the surface. For groundwater to be a recoverable resource, it must exist in an
aquifer. Groundwater can be found in practically every area of the province, but
aquifer depths, yields, and water quality vary.
35. Hydraulics: the mechanical properties of water and other liquids and the
application of these properties in engineering.
36. Hydrograph: a description of flow versus time or a description of stage versus
time.
37. Hydrologic cycle: the continuous process of water movement between the oceans,
atmosphere, and land. The hydrologic cycle is a process that occurs within the
earth's atmosphere in which water molecules move and are transformed from liquid
to vapor and back to liquid again. The cycle begins when an unending circulation
of water begins as energy from the sun which evaporates enormous quantities of

water from the oceans. Atmospheric winds transport the moist air to other regions,
where it condenses into clouds, some of which produce rain and snow. If the
precipitation falls into an ocean, the water is ready to begin its cycle again. If the
precipitation falls on a continent, a great deal of the water makes its way back to
the ocean in a complex journey over land and underground.
38. Hydrologic cycle--the cyclic transfer of water vapor from the Earth's surface via
evapotranspiration into the atmosphere, from the atmosphere via precipitation back
to earth, and through runoff into streams, rivers, and lakes, and ultimately into the
oceans.
39. Hydrology: the study of water. Hydrology generally focuses on the distribution of
water and interaction with the land surface and underlying soils and rocks.
40. Hyetograph: rainfall intensity versus time. A hyetograph is often represented by a
bar graph.
41. Impermeable layer--a layer of solid material, such as rock or clay, which does not
allow water to pass through.
42. Impoundment - Storage of water
43. Infiltration: the movement of water from the land surface into the soil.
44. Intake - Any structure on the upstream face of a dam or within a reservoir created
for directing water into a confined conduit, tunnel, canal, or pipeline.
45. Irrigation--the controlled application of water for agricultural purposes through
manmade systems to supply water requirements not satisfied by rainfall.
46. Mesotrophic - A descriptive term for water bodies that contain moderate quantities
of nutrients and are moderately productive in terms of aquatic animal and plant life.
47. Oligotrophic - Pertaining to a lake or other body of water characterized by
extremely low nutrient concentrations such as nitrogen and phosphorous and
resulting very moderate productivity. Oligotrophic lakes are those low in nutrient
materials and consequently poor areas for the development of extensive aquatic
floras and faunas. Such lakes are often deep, with sandy bottoms and very limited
plant growth, but with high dissolved-oxygen levels. This represents the early stages
in the life cycle of a lake.
48. Permeability--the ability of a material to allow the passage of a liquid, such as
water through rocks. Permeable materials, such as gravel and sand, allow water to
move quickly through them, whereas unpermeable material, such as clay, don't
allow water to flow freely.
49. Porosity--a measure of the water-bearing capacity of subsurface rock. With respect
to water movement, it is not just the total magnitude of porosity that is important,
but the size of the voids and the extent to which they are interconnected, as the pores
in a formation may be open, or interconnected, or closed and isolated. For example,

clay may have a very high porosity with respect to potential water content, but it
constitutes a poor medium as an aquifer because the pores are usually so small.
50. Potable water--water of a quality suitable for drinking.
51. Precipitation, Probable Maximum - Theoretically the greatest depth of
precipitation for a given duration that is physically possible over a given size storm
area at a particular geographical location at a certain time of the year.
52. Runoff--(1) That part of the precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation water that
appears in uncontrolled surface streams, rivers, drains or sewers. Runoff may be
classified according to speed of appearance after rainfall or melting snow as direct
runoff or base runoff, and according to source as surface runoff, storm interflow, or
groundwater runoff. (2) The total discharge described in (1), above, during a
specified period of time. (3) Also defined as the depth to which a drainage area
would be covered if all of the runoff for a given period of time were uniformly
distributed over it.
53. Seepage--(1) The slow movement of water through small cracks, pores, Interstices,
etc., of a material into or out of a body of surface or subsurface water. (2) The loss
of water by infiltration into the soil from a canal, ditches, laterals, watercourse,
reservoir, storage facilities, or other body of water, or from a field.
54. Sewage - 1.) The liquid waste from domestic, commercial, and industrial
establishments.
2.) Human excreta, or the water-carried wastes from drinking, bathing, laundering,
or food processing.
55. Sewage Treatment - The processing of wastewater for the removal or reduction of
contained solids or other undesirable constituents.
56. Spillway - A chute, weir, conduit, tunnel, channel, or other structure designed to
permit discharges from a reservoir. The primary purpose of a spillway is to
discharge flood flows safely past a dam, but they may also be used to release water
for other purposes. A spillway may be gated (controlled) or not. Gates are used to
regulate the level of the reservoir above the spillway crest. In an un-gated
(uncontrolled) spillway, the discharge occurs automatically when the water level
rises above the level of the spillway crest.
57. Surface Water - Water bodies such as lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers, and streams,
as well as groundwater with a direct and immediate hydrological connection to
surface water (for example, water in a well beside a river).
58. Time of concentration - The travel time from the hydraulically furthermost point in
a watershed to the outlet. Also defined as the time from the end of rainfall excess to
the inflection point on the recession curve.
59. Transpiration--process by which water that is absorbed by plants, usually through
the roots, is evaporated into the atmosphere from the plant surface, such as leaf
pores.
60. Tributary--a smaller river or stream that flows into a larger river or stream. Usually,
a number of smaller tributaries merge to form a river.
61. Turbidity--the amount of solid particles that are suspended in water and that cause
light rays shining through the water to scatter. Thus, turbidity makes the water
cloudy or even opaque in extreme cases. Turbidity is measured in nephelometric

turbidity units (NTU).


62. Water Management - Watershed Management The protection and conservation of
water and aquatic ecosystems, including their associated riparian area. In Alberta,
several agencies have a mandate in this area. Alberta Environment is responsible for
water quality, quantity monitoring, and water allocations.
63. Watershed--the land area that drains water to a particular stream, river, or lake. It is
a land feature that can be identified by tracing a line along the highest elevations
between two areas on a map, often a ridge. Large watersheds, like the Mississippi
River basin contain thousands of smaller watersheds.
64. Waste - Any solid or liquid material, product, or combination of them that is
intended to be treated or disposed of or that is intended to be stored and then treated
or disposed. This does not include recyclables.
65. Wastewater - A combination of liquid and water-carried pollutants from homes,
businesses, industries, or farms; a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended
solids.
66. Wastewater Collection System - A system of sewers, valves, fittings, pumping
stations, and accessories that is used to collect wastewater and transfer it to a
wastewater treatment plant.
67. Wastewater Treatment - Any of the mechanical or chemical processes used to
modify the quality of waste water in order to make it more compatible or acceptable
to man and his environment.
68. Wastewater Treatment Plant - Any structure, thing, or process used for the
physical, chemical, biological, or radiological treatment of wastewater before it is
returned to the environment. The term also includes any structure, thing, or process
used for wastewater storage or disposal, or sludge treatment, storage, or disposal.
69. Water Allocation The permitted volume, rate, and timing of a diversion of water
outlined in a water licence. When water is permitted to be redirected for a use other
than for domestic purposes, it is referred to as an allocation. Agricultural, industrial,
and municipal water users must apply to AENV for a licence to use a set allocation
of water.
70. Water Balance 1.) A measure of the amount of water entering and the amount of
water leaving a system. Also referred to as Hydrologic Budget. Also see Hydrologic
Equation. 2.) The ratio between the water assimilated into the body and that lost
from the body; also, the condition of the body when this ratio approximates unity.
71. Aeration - Addition of air to water resulting in an increase in its dissolved oxygen
level.
72. Artificial precipitation (cloud seeding ) - Precipitation attributable to human
action on a cloud.
73. Channeling - Flow along preferred paths in fractured media.
74. Channelization - Straightening and deepening of a channel to increase its
conveyance.
75. Climate - Synthesis of weather conditions in a given area, characterized by longterm statistics of the meteorological elements in that area.
76. Climatic region - Region in which there is a relatively uniform climate, according

to specific criteria.
77. Conduit - Canal or pipeline constructed to convey large quantities of water, either
by gravity or under pressure, between two locations.
78. Contamination - Pollution of water causing degradation of the aquatic ecosystem
or affecting public health.
79. Convective precipitation - Precipitation caused by convective motion in the
atmosphere.
80. Crest - (1) Top of a dam, levee, spillway or weir to which water must rise before
passing over the structure. (2) Top of a wave. (3) Peak of a hydrograph.
81. Critical depth - Depth of water flowing in an open channel under conditions of
critical flow
82. Cryosphere - Total ice, snow and permafrost masses of the world.
83. Culvert - Closed conduit for the free passage of surface drainage water under a
highway, railroad, canal or other structure.
84. Cyclonic precipitation - Precipitation caused by the activity of an atmospheric
depression.
85. Daily storage - Volume of water which can be stored daily in a reservoir between
minimum and maximum daily water levels under ordinary operating conditions.
86. Datum level - Horizontal surface used as a reference to which elevations are
related.
87. Stagnant water - Water in a state of slow or no circulation, usually leading to an
oxygen deficit.
88. Degradation (weathering) - Breakdown of a substance in an ecosystem by
physical, chemical, biological or radioactive processes
89. Denitrification - Conversion of nitrate or nitrite to gaseous products, mainly
nitrogen and/or nitrous oxide, through the action of a certain type of bacteria under
anaerobic or aerobic conditions.
90. Denudation (stripping) - Removal of material from the land surface by various
processes.
91. Depletion - Continued withdrawal of water from groundwater or a reservoir at a rate
greater than the rate of replenishment. (2) Reduction of groundwater storage in an
aquifer, or of the flow in a stream or spring, caused by discharge exceeding natural
replenishment.
92. Dew - Deposit of water droplets on objects whose surface is sufficiently cooled,
generally by nocturnal radiation, to bring about the direct condensation of the water
vapour from the surrounding air.
93. Dewatering (see also drainage) Removal of water from an area by artificial means
to reduce the level of groundwater or surface water.
94. Diffusion - Process of spreading of a solute as a result of continuous random
molecular motion of the water and the solute.
95. Direct precipitation - Precipitation that falls directly on an open water surface.
96. Drift - Superficial deposit caused by a current of water or air.
97. Drizzle- Uniform precipitation composed exclusively of fine drops of water (less

than 0.5 millimeters in diameter) very close to one another.


98. Dystrophic water - Water which is poor in nutrients and contains a high
concentration of humic acid.
99. Euphotic zone - Upper layer of a water body where light penetration is sufficient to
support effective photosynthesis.
100. Evapotranspiration - Combined processes by which water is transferred to the
atmosphere from the soil by evaporation and from the vegetation by transpiration.
101. Fetch - Area of an ocean, lake or reservoir in which waves are generated by the
wind; the length of the fetch is measured in the direction of the wind.
102. Filtration - Process of passing a liquid through a filtering medium to remove
suspended or colloidal matter.
103. Flash flood - Flood of short duration with a relatively high peak discharge.
104. Flood routing (stream routing) - Technique used to compute the movement and the
change in shape of a flood wave moving through a river reach or a reservoir.
105. Flume - made channel with clearly specified shape and dimensions which may be
used for the measurement of discharge.
106. Forecast (warning)- Estimate of the magnitude and time of occurrence of a future
event.
107. Front - (1) Interface or zone of transition between air masses of different densities
(temperature, humidity). (2) Moving air/water interface or water/water interface,
generally in a porous medium.
108. Frost - Covering by ice produced by the sublimation of water vapour on objects
that are colder than 0 degrees Celsius.
109. Glacier - Accumulation of ice with an atmospheric origin which usually moves
slowly on land over a long period.
110. Gully (gulch) - Deeply eroded watercourse which flows only due to storm runoff
and/or during the melting of snow.
111. Hail (grains of ice) Precipitation of small balls or pieces of ice (hailstones) with a
diameter greater than 5 millimeters, falling either separately or agglomerated into
irregular lumps.
112. Hardness - Property of water, mainly due to bicarbonates, chlorides and sulphates
of calcium and magnesium, which prevents the production of abundant lather with
soap and induces the formation of carbonate scale.
113. Heavy rain - Rainfall of high intensity.
114. High water - (1) State of the tide when the water level is highest for any given
tidal cycle. (2) Highest water level reached in a watercourse or on a lake during a
flood or reservoir operation.
115. Humid zone - Zone in which precipitation exceeds potential evapotranspiration.
116. Hydraulics- Branch of fluid mechanics dealing with the flow of water (or other
liquids) in conduits and open watercourses.
117. Hydrosphere - That part of the Earth covered by water and ice.
118. Iceberg - Large mass of floating or stranded ice, more than 5 meters above the
water surface, which has broken away either from a glacier or from an ice-shelf
formation.
119. Inlet - see also intake, lagoon (1) Upstream end of any structure through which

water may flow. (2) Structure which admits water supplies from the source through
an intake work built upstream. (3) Opening that connects a wetland, a marsh or a
lagoon with the sea.
120. Insulated stream (see also perched stream) Stream or stretch of stream, perched
or not, which, with respect to groundwater, neither contributes water to the saturated
zone nor receives water from it.
121. Interception (see also retention) (1) Process by which precipitation is caught and
held by vegetation (canopy and litter structures) and then may be lost by evaporation
without reaching the ground. (2) Quantity of interception, equal to or less than
interception capacity.
122. Juvenile water (rimitive water see also magmatic water) Water derived from
the crust of the Earth that has not existed previously as atmospheric or surface water.
123. Leaching - Process of removal of soluble and colloidal substances by water
percolating downwards through the soil layers, by which the upper layer of leached
soil becomes increasingly acidic and deficient in plant nutrients.
124. Limnograph - Continuous record of stages on a chart made by a water-level
recorder.
125. Limnology - Science that deals with the study of lakes and open reservoirs,
including hydrological phenomena, in relation to the environment.
126. Low water - (1) State of the tide when the water level is lowest for any given tidal
cycle. (2) Lowest water level reached in a watercourse, a lake, or a reservoir during
a drought
127. Marsh (swamp see also bog, wetland) Lowland flooded in the rainy season, and
usually watery at all times.
128. Mineral water - (1) Natural water with a concentration of dissolved salts greater
than a defined threshold. (2) Natural groundwater which has special organoleptic
and/or therapeutic properties due to its dissolved mineral content and physical
characteristics; in most countries, the Mineral Water label is regulated according
to specific standards and procedures.
129. Monsoon - Seasonal change of wind direction, from sea to land or vice versa,
associated with widespread changes in temperature and rainfall in subtropical
regions.
130. Mudflow (hyperconcentrated flow) - Flow of water so heavily charged with
sediment and debris that the flowing mass is thick and viscous.
131. Nested wells - Series of single-cased monitoring wells that are closely spaced and
have screens at different depths.
132. Organoleptic - Pertaining to attributes of water, for example colour, taste, odour
and appearance, that are perceptible by the senses.
133. Osmosis - (see also osmotic pressure) Passage of a solvent from a dilute solution to
a more concentrated one through a semipermeable membrane, that is, a membrane
permeable to the solvent only.
134. Oxygen deficit - Difference between actual dissolved oxygen concentration in an
aquatic ecosystem and its oxygen saturation concentration.
135. Pancake ice - Pieces of newly-formed ice, usually approximately circular and with

raised rims due to pieces striking against each other.


136. Perennial stream - Stream which flows continuously all through the year.
137. Permafrost (pergelisol) - Layer of soil or rock in which the temperature has been
continuously below 0 degrees Celsius for at least some years.
138. Phreatophytes - Water-loving plants that grow mainly along watercourses and/or
where their roots reach the capillary fringe.
139. Phytoplankton - (see also plankton) Plant plankton and primary producers of an
aquatic ecosystem, comprising mainly diatoms in cool water although
dinoflagellates are more important in warmer waters.
140. Polder - Mostly low-lying area, artificially protected from surrounding water, and
within which the water table can be controlled.
141. Precipitation gauge - General term for any device that measures the amount of
precipitation; principally a raingauge or snow gauge.
142. Puddle - Accumulation of meltwater on ice, mainly due to melting snow and, at a
later stage, the melting of ice.
143. Purging (well evacuation) - Process of removing stagnant water from a well prior
to sampling.
144. Pycnometer - Instrument for measuring the specific mass of liquids and solids.
145. Radial well (collector well) - Well with horizontal tubular drains arranged in
several radial directions thus increasing its effective radius.
146. Rafted ice - Two-layered or multilayered floating ice under pressure, resulting
from one flow overriding another.
147. Recession - (see also falling limb, groundwater recession) Period of decreasing
discharge as indicated by the falling limb of a hydrograph starting from the peak.
148. Recurrence - (see also n-year event, return period) Occurrence of a hydrological
event with the same, a smaller or a larger magnitude as a previous hydrological
event.
149. Regime - Term used to characterize the seasonal distribution of one or more
hydrological elements at a particular location.
150. Regression - Process of quantifying the dependence of one variable on one or more
other variables.
151. Regression analysis - Statistical method developed to investigate the
interdependence or relationship between two or more measurable variates.

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