Aquatics

watershed

an area of land that drains into a specific body of water with every body of water having a watershed.

Watersheds drain

rainfall and snowmelt into streams and rivers which then flow into larger bodies of water

purpose of delineating a watershed

outline the boundaries of the watershed to help understand runoff patterns, pollution sources, and flooding

point source pollution

distinct location from which pollution is directly produced

Examples of point source pollution

drainage pipe, smoke stack, factory that pumps waste directly into nearby water

non-point source pollution

combination of pollutants from a large area rather than one specific location

examples of non-point source pollution

runoff from an urban road, a farming region, runoff from a suburban commits with many lawns and septic systems

stream order

hierarchy of streams that shows how streams come together and flow into a bigger body of water

fecal coliform

rod shaped bacterium found in digestive tract of all mammals and is used as an indicator of potential diseases that are transmitted through feces

turbidity

how murky the water is and how much sediment is present in the water

PCBs

industrial pollutants/chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls

dissolved oxygen

how much oxygen is available in the water for organisms and aquatic organisms use oxygen for cell respiration and most are aerobic