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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Groundwater
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water held in gravel deposits or porous rock below the earths surface.
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Aquifer
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porous; water-bearing layers of sand; gravel; and rock below the earths surface; reservoirs for groundwater.
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Discharge
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the amount of water that passes a fixed point in a given amount of time; usually expressed as liters or cubic feet of water per second.
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Renewable water supplies
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annual freshwater surface runoff plus annual infiltration into underground freshwater aquifers that are accessible for human use.
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Water withdrawal
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the total amount of water taken from a water body.
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Water consumption
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the loss of water due to evaporation; absorption; or contamination.
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Watershed
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the land surface and groundwater aquifers drained by a particular river system.
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Water pollution
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any chemical; biological; or physical change in water quality that has a harmful effect on living organisms or makes the water unusable.
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Point source pollution
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refers to discharge of pollution from specific locations (drain pipes & ditches); these are identifiable and are relatively easy to monitor/regulate; examples include: factories; power plants; sewage treatment plants; oil wells
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Nonpoint source pollution
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refers to scattered/diffuse discharge having no specific location where they enter the water; these are harder to monitor/regulate because the sources are harder to identify; examples include: runoff from farms; golf courses; lawns; gardens; construction sites; roads; and parking lots.
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Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
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the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by aquatic microorganisms
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Clean Water Act (US 1977)
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The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters; unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.
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