Water Resources Management And Planning Terms

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hydrograph

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a graph that relates the stage, the flow, the velocity of a water source as regard to time

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baseflow, discharge (also called drought flow, groundwater recession flow, low flow, and sustained or fair-weather runoff, depending on context)

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The usual, reliable, background level of a river, maintained generally by seepage from groundwater storage, but also by throughflow, which means that the river can maintain the base flow during dry periods.

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rising limb

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The rising portion of the hydrograph resulting from runoff of rainfall or snowmelt

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peak flow / peak discharge

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the highest point on the hydrograph when there is the greatest amount of water in the river

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falling limb / recession limb

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extends from the point of inflection at the end of the crest segment to the commnencement of the natural groundwater flow represents the withdrawal of water from the storage built up in the basin during the earlier phases of the hydrograph.

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aquifer

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An underground bed or layer of permeable rock, sediment, or soil that yields water.

geological formation that stores and/or transmits water

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discharge (streamflow, outflow)

Units = include m³/s (cubic meters per second), ft³/s (cubic feet per second or cfs) and/or acre-feet per day.[

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the volume rate of water flow, including any suspended solids (i.e. sediment), dissolved chemical species (i.e. CaCO3(aq)) and/or biologic material (i.e. diatoms), which is transported through a given cross-sectional area

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riparian water rights

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all landowners whose property is adjoining to a body of water have the right to make reasonable use of it. If there is not enough water to satisfy all users, allotments are generally fixed in proportion to frontage on the water source. These rights cannot be sold or transferred other than with the adjoining land, and water cannot be transferred out of the watershed

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TMDL (total maximum daily load)

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a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA), describing a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards.[1] Alternatively, TMDL is an allocation of that water pollutant deemed acceptable to the subject receiving waters, used by EPA and WVDEP

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Water Resources Development Acts (WRDAs)

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public laws enacted by Congress to deal with various aspects of water resources: environmental, structural, navigational, flood protection, hydrology, etc.

Typically, the United States Army Corps of Engineers administers the bulk of the Act's requirements.

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PSDs

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Public Service Districts

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DEP or WVDEP

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Department of Environmental Protection

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water demand

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total amount of water needed/used within a geographic area, millions gallons per day (mgd) or gallons per day (gpd)

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Public Water System (PWS)

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providers of water for human consumption through pipes or constructed conveyances to at least 15 service connections or services an avg of 25 people at least 60 days per yr(EPA definition)

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Self-Supplied Users

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individual homes and non-community systems that obtain water through wells or private intakes (springs)

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Consumptive Water Use

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any withdrawal of water which returns less water to the water body than is withdrawn, primarily a watershed based concept

that part of water withdrawn that is evaporated, transpired by plants, incorporated into products or crops, consumed by humans or livestock, or otherwise removed from the immediate water environment. Also referred to as water consumed.

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NPDES Phase II MS4 Permit

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requires that all municipalities, industrial dischargers, construction sites of 1 acre (4,000 m2) or more, and other large property owners (such as school districts) have NPDES permits for their stormwater discharges

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stormwater

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a term used to describe water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt or runoff water from overwatering that enters the stormwater system.

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surface runoff

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Stormwater that does not soak into the ground becomes surface runoff, which either flows directly into surface waterways or is channeled into storm sewers, which eventually discharge to surface waters.

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MS4

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municipal separate storm sewer systems

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NPDES

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National Pollution Discharge Elimination System - mandated under the Clean Water Act (CWA)

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GIS

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GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
Tool to store, manipulate and display spatial information
Includes location information (x,y coordinates) and attribute data

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Safe Yield

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the maximum sustainable withdrawal that can be made continuously from a water source, while preserving the source’s aquatic habitat

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drought of record

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worst event for which hydrologic records exist (for West Virginia we use the drought of Summer 1930-Spring 1931)

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baseline average

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the average amount of water withdrawn by a large quantity user over a representative historical time period

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large quantity user

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any person who withdraws over 750,000 gallons of water in a calendar month from the state's waters and any person who bottles water for resale regardless of quantity withdrawn

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acre foot

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The amount of water required to cover one acre to a depth of one foot. An acre-foot equals 326,851 gallons, or 43,560 cubic feet

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anisotropy

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for an aquifer, the condition of having different hydraulic properties (e.g. difference permeability) in different directions

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unconfined aquifer

aka - water table aquifer

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an aquifer located directly beneath the unsaturated zone who upper water surface (water table) is at atmospheric pressure and thus is able to rise & fall

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confined aquifer

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an aquifer located between to impermeable (confining) layers, it is under pressure so that when it is penetrated by a well, water will rise above the top of the aquifer

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artesian well

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a well drilled into a confined aquifer. the water is under pressure and will rise above the top of the aquifer

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US Clean Water Act of 1972

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Federal Act whose goal is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's water

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appropriation doctrine

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system for allocating water to private individuals used in most Western states, contrasts with riparian water rights.

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bedding plane

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in sedimentary or stratified rock, the boundary between 2 successive layers, or "beds"

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a bed

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the smallest division of a geologic formation or stratigraphic rock series marked by well-defined divisional planes (bedding planes) separating it from layers above and below.

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best management practice (BMP)

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a method that has been determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing or reducing pollution from nonpoint sources

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criteria

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standards that define minimum conditions, pollutant limits, goals and other requirements that the waterbody must attain/maintain to support its designated use.

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cubic feet per second (cfs)

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rate of flow in streams/rivers, equal to a volume of water 1 foot high & 1 foot wide flowing a distance of 1 foot in 1 second. 1 cfs = 7.48 gal of water per second

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drainage basin

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land area where precipitation runs off into streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. It is a land feature that can be identified by tracing a line along the highest elevations between two areas on a map, often a ridge. Large drainage basins, like the area that drains into the Mississippi River contain thousands of smaller drainage basins. Also called a "watershed."

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drawdown

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a lowering of the ground-water surface caused by pumping

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effluent

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water that flows from a sewage treatment plant after it has been treated

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evaporation

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the process of liquid water becoming water vapor, including vaporization from water surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from leaf surfaces which is called transpiration

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transpiration

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process by which water that is absorbed by plants, usually through the roots, is evaporated into the atmosphere from the plant surface, such as leaf pores. See evapotranspiration

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evapotranspiration

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the sum of evaporation and transpiration

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100-year flood

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A 100-year flood does not refer to a flood that occurs once every 100 years, but to a flood level with a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year

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flood stage

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The elevation at which overflow of the natural banks of a stream or body of water begins in the reach or area in which the elevation is measured

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freshwater

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water that contains less than 1,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of dissolved solids; generally, more than 500 mg/L of dissolved solids is undesirable for drinking and many industrial uses

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gage height

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the height of the water surface above the gage datum (zero point). Gage height is often used interchangeably with the more general term, stage, although gage height is more appropriate when used with a gage reading

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ground water

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(1) water that flows or seeps downward and saturates soil or rock, supplying springs and wells. The upper surface of the saturate zone is called the water table.

(2) Water stored underground in rock crevices and in the pores of geologic materials that make up the Earth's crust

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ground-water recharge

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inflow of water to a ground-water reservoir from the surface. Infiltration of precipitation and its movement to the water table is one form of natural recharge. Also, the volume of water added by this process

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headwater(s)

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(1) the source and upper reaches of a stream; also the upper reaches of a reservoir.

(2) the water upstream from a structure or point on a stream.

(3) the small streams that come together to form a river. Also may be thought of as any and all parts of a river basin except the mainstream river and main tributaries

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hydrologic cycle

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the cyclic transfer of water vapor from the Earth's surface via evapotranspiration into the atmosphere, from the atmosphere via precipitation back to earth, and through runoff into streams, rivers, and lakes, and ultimately into the oceans

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impermeable layer

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a layer of solid material, such as rock or clay, which does not allow water to pass through

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infiltration

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flow of water from the land surface into the subsurface

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injection well

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refers to a well constructed for the purpose of injecting treated wastewater directly into the ground. Wastewater is generally forced (pumped) into the well for dispersal or storage into a designated aquifer. Injection wells are generally drilled into aquifers that don't deliver drinking water, unused aquifers, or below freshwater levels

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leaching

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the process by which soluble materials in the soil, such as salts, nutrients, pesticide chemicals or contaminants, are washed into a lower layer of soil or are dissolved and carried away by water

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levee

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a natural or manmade earthen barrier along the edge of a stream, lake, or river. Land alongside rivers can be protected from flooding by levees

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Lentic waters

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ponds or lakes (standing water)

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Lotic waters

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flowing waters, as in streams and rivers

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maximum contaminant level (MCL)

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the designation given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to water-quality standards promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The MCL is the greatest amount of a contaminant that can be present in drinking water without causing a risk to human health

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million gallons per day (Mgd)

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a rate of flow of water equal to 133,680.56 cubic feet per day, or 1.5472 cubic feet per second, or 3.0689 acre-feet per day. A flow of one million gallons per day for one year equals 1,120 acre-feet (365 million gallons)

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municipal water system

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a water system that has at least five service connections or which regularly serves 25 individuals for 60 days; also called a public water system