Ch. 13

Zone of saturation:

Zone where all available pores in soil and rock in the earth’s crust are filled by water. See water table, zone of aeration.

Water table:

Upper surface of the zone of saturation, in which all available pores in the soil and rock in the earth’s crust are filled with water. See zone of aeration, zone of saturation.

Aquifers:

an underground body of rock or sediment that stores (serves as a storage reservoir for) groundwater.

Surface water:

the freshwater from rain and melted snow that flows or is stored in lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, streams, and rivers.

Surface runoff:

Precipitation that does not soak into the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation.

Watershed, or drainage basin:

The land from which surface runoff drains into a particular stream, lake, wetland, or other body of water is called its.

Reliable surface runoff:

Because 2/3 of the annual surface runoff of freshwater into rivers and streams is lost in seasonal floods/not available for human use, the remaining one-third is reliable surface runoff—defined as the portion of runoff that is regarded as a stable source of freshwater from year to year.

Water footprint:

A rough measure of the volume of freshwater that you use directly or indirectly

Overpumping:

Groundwater from rainfall and snowmelt is removed faster than it is replenished.

Land subsidence:

Withdrawing large amounts of groundwater sometimes causes the sand and rock that is held in place by water pressure in aquifers to collapse. This can cause the land above the aquifer to subside or sink.

Sinkhole:

Can swallow cars and houses

Reverse osmosis (or microfiltration):

Uses high pressure to force saltwater through a membrane filter with pores small enough to remove the salt and other impurities. It requires less than a third of the energy needed to distill saltwater.

Hydrologic cycle:

Movement of water in the seas, land, and air. It’s distributed unevenly. Withdrawing and polluting water and causing climate change

Dam:

A barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface or underground streams

Reservoir:

An artificial lake where the water is stored

Desalination:

The process of removing salt from water

Distollation:

The process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation. The action of purifying a liquid by a process of heating and cooling. The process of making a liquid stronger or purer by heating it until it changes to a gas and then cooling it so that it changes back into a liquid.

Floodplain:

Flat valley floor next to a stream channel. For legal purposes, the term often applies to any low area that has the potential for flooding, including certain coastal areas.

How primary sewage treatment is used to help purify water:

Physical process and large solids are filtered out by screens and suspended solids settle out as sludge in a sedimentation tank.

How secondary sewage treatment is used to help purify water:

Biological processes using bacteria and aerobic bacteria decompose as much as 90% of degradable, oxygen-demanding organic wastes in wastewater. It usually involves bringing sewage and bacteria together in trickling filters or in the activated sludge process.

Tertiary or advance sewage treatment:

Special filtering processes, and Bleaching and disinfection

We can use water more sustainably:

Reduce water use. Use water more efficiently. Cut water losses. Raise water prices. Protect aquifers, forests, and other ecosystems that store and release water.