glossary 3.1-3.6

fresh water

Water with a low concentration of dissolved salts, for example drinking water.

groundwater

Water that is no longer visible because it has infiltrated into the ground and in rock.

land ice

Masses of ice which are on land.

ocean current

Movement by the wind of a large mass of seawater in a fixed direction.

salt water

Water with a high concentration of dissolved salts, for example sea water.

surface water

Water that is visible, such as lakes, fens, rivers, and seas.

aquifer

Layer that holds water underground.

fossil water

Water under the ground that dates back from ancient times.

infiltration

Water seeping into the ground.

non-renewable water resources

Water that is not or very slowly replenished.

renewable water resources

Water that is replenished at the same rate that it is being used.

sustainable water management

Water management in which renewable water resources are used.

useful precipitation

The difference between precipitation and evaporation (the water that is left).

water balance

The amount of water that goes into and out of an area.

hurricane

A tropical storm with wind speeds over 200 km per hour.

peak discharge

Time of the highest river channel level.

soil subsidence

Sinking of the ground.

economic water scarcity

Too little has been invested to get the available water to the people.

physical water shortage

There is too little water in an area to meet the needs of the people without disrupting nature.

water stress

All the problems that arise as a result of a shortage of clean drinking water.

water war

An armed conflict over water between population groups within a country or between states.

beach nourishment

Pumping sand onto the beach to reinforce the coast.

climate adaptation

Adapting the landscape to a changing climate.

coastal erosion

Parts of the beach or dunes that are washed away during a storm.

dyke ring

A system of flood defences (dykes, dams, dunes) that protects the enclosed area from flooding.

dynamic coastal management

Coastal management in a dune area where nature is left to run its course.

foredune

Row of dunes that are directly adjacent to a coast which act as a defense.

IJsselmeer polder

Reclaimed parts of the former Zuiderzee.

peat polder

An area of peatland that has subsided so much that it is now below NAP (sea level).

polder

Dutch term for an area, often below sea level, surrounded by dykes in which the water level is regulated by pumping stations.

reclaimed lake floor

Polder created by draining a lake or part of the sea.

sea polder

Polder formed by building a dyke around a salt marsh.

area inside the dyke

Area along a river or by the sea that is protected by dykes.

area inside the dyke

Area along a river or by the sea that is not protected by dykes.

flood plains

The area between the river and the winter dyke which is covered when the river floods.

riverbed

The depression carved by erosion in the landscape through which a river flows.

water retention basin

Area in which during high water levels, water is temporarily stored to lower the river water level downstream.