Water Test Review Terms

Dispersants

Used during oil spill clean-up to cause oil to break oil into small, non-floating globules

Mitigation

Artificial construction of a new habitat

Valdez

Ship responsible for oil spill in Alaskan waters

Bacteria

The use of these is the defining feature of secondary wasterwater treatment

Infiltration

Low impact development tactics try to increase this

Transpiration

This process emits water vapor from plant life

Riprap

Use of this prevents erosion of river banks and shorelines

Nitrates

Increased levels in groundwater can cause health problems in infants

Dead Zone

Another name for an area of hypoxia

Chloride

High levels of this in water can corrode unprotected lead pipes

Chlorine

Common disinfectant used in wastewater treatment

Bycatch

Harpooning is a fishing technique that is low in this quality

Trawling

Fishing technique that will rip up ocean floor and have high bycatch due to dragging of weighted nets underwater

California Water Project

Aqueduct system moving water from the northern section of the state to the southern section of the state

Central Arizona Project

Aqueduct system moving water from the Colorado River to major cities of the state over 300 miles away

Eutrophication

This process is moved along by the addition of nutrients into water

LID

Efforts to decrease stormwater volumes

HAB

When eutrophication results in the explosion of toxins from certain producers in waterways

Furrow

Type of watering system on farms that is the least water conservative

Drip

Type of watering system on farms that will require the most equipment and labor

Nonpoint Source

The Clean Water Act is not able to regulate this class of water pollution

Leachfield

The location of the majority of liquid wastewater treatment in rural areas

Primary Settling Tank

The location where the majority of oils and greases are removed from wastewater at treatment plants

Oxygen Sag Curve

Shows how BOD and DO relate to each other in the presence or absence of biodegradable wastes

Watershed

These are defined and located based on regional topographic features that are highest in elevation

Saltwater intrusion

Issue where drinking water wells are impacted on the coast due to overpumping of water or climate change impacts

Desalination

Water diversion tactic that would require lots of energy and use of pressurized filters

Tertiary Treatment

Tactic used to remove dissolved inorganic chemicals using different filtration or chemical processes from wastewater

Arsenic

Common aquifer pollutant that is usually from natural deposits found in the rocks of the aquifer

Potash

Is the third value of the the three digit fertilizer code

Dissolved oxygen

Thermal pollution will likely cause a loss of this in waterways

pH

If you have a high alkalinity reading for water, it means that this will not likely change even if there is a lot of acid pollution.

Dredging

This process is used to help make rivers go faster by making them deeper

Evaporation

Process responsible for major water loss from reservoirs of dammed water on Colorado River

Digester

Place of low oxygen where sludges can be transformed into a fuel

Impervious

Materials with this property will increase runoff and decrease percolation of stormwater

Boom

Floating fence to keep spilled oil in an localized area

Buffer Strip

Wider ones of these lead to less pollution in surface waters

NPK

The multiple major elemental ingredients in most fertilizers

Stratification

Found during summers and winter when water layers about by density

Secondary Settling Tank

Where bacteria used in earlier wastewater processes are settled out and reused

Disinfection

Phase of wastewater treatment where bacteria that could cause illness are killed

Xeriscaping

Technique that would use succulents and cacti for decorative yard plants

Sediment

This is restricted from downstream areas when large dams are built

United States

Location of world's largest aquifer

China

Location of world's largest dam

Kazakhstan

Location of the Aral Sea

Effluent

Point source discharge from wastewater treatment plants

Deepwater Horizon

Major oil spill linked to an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico

Cloud seeding

Water diversion practice using silver iodide

Levee

Diversion practice that tries to restrict water movement to certain places

Tiles

Major tool used to drain wetlands for other uses

Phosphate

Major ingredient in soaps that can incite algae blooms

Inverse

BOD and DO are related in this way

Oligotrophic

Waterways with rocky substrates and young age

Mesotrophic

Waters with moderate levels of nutrients

Chemicals of Emerging Concern

Pollutants like caffeine and hormones that are tough to remove from wastewater

Channelization

Most common ways this occurs is straightening or deepening