Water Quality

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Nitrates

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Special compounds containing nitrogen and oxygen

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Phosphates

Back 2

Chemicals used to make fertilizer

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Turbidity

Back 3

A measure of how clear water is. A cloudy condition in water due to suspended silt or organic matter.

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Bio-indicator

Back 4

organisms or components of organisms that are used to assess the health of a water system

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Temperature

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A measure of how hot or cold something is.

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Dissolved Oxygen

Back 6

Measure of water quality indicating free oxygen dissolved in water.

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Sewage

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The water and human wastes that are washed down sinks, toilets, and showers

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Eutrophication

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A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.

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acid rain

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Rain or another form of precipitation that is more acidic than normal, caused by the release of molecules of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the air.

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coagulation

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The process by which particles in a liquid clump together.

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Coliform Bacteria

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Fecal coliform bacteria should not be found in sources of drinking water. Their presence in water serves as a reliable indication of contamination from human sewage or animal droppings.

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concentration

Back 12

The amount of one substance in a certain volume of another substance.

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conservation

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The practice of using less of a resource so that it will not be used up.

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Contaminates

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Any foreign components in a substance, for example in water.

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desalination

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The process of obtaining fresh water from salt water by removing the salt.

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filtration

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The process of passing water through a series of screens that allow the water through, but not larger solid particles.

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hardness

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The level of the minerals calcium and magnesium in water.

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Indicator

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A chemical material or solution which can be used to show (usually by a change in color) the endpoint of a chemical reaction or chemical concentration. Examples are litmus and phenolphthalein.

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irrigation

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The process of supplying water to areas of land to make them suitable for growing crops.

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Macro-invertebrate

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small, spineless creatures that are visible with the unaided eye; they include organisms such as crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and insects

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nonpoint source

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A widely spread source of pollution that is difficult to link to a specific point of origin.

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Nutrient influx

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nutrients flowing into an area

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pesticide

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A chemical intended to kill insects and other organisms that damage crops.

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pH

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The measurement of how acidic or basic a substance is, on a scale of 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic).

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point source

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A specific source of pollution that can be identified.

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pollutant

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A substance that causes pollution.

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Secchi Disk

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A flat, white disc lowered into the water by a rope until it is just barely visible. At this point, the depth of the disc from the water surface is the recorded secchi disc transparency.

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Stewardship

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responsibility for conserving and restoring the Earth's resources for future generations

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Wastewater

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water that runs into drains that may contain sewage and chemicals from homes and businesses or pollutants from industry

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water pollution

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The addition of any substance that has a negative effect on water or the living things that depend on the water.

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water quality

Back 31

The degree of purity of water, determined by measuring the substances in water besides water molecules.