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Chapter 11 Vocab
Water Unit
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Surface Water | Fresh water found on Earth's land surface |
| River System | a flowing network of water as streams and rivers move across land |
| Watershed | The area of land that is drained by a river |
| Groundwater | Water beneath the earth's surface in sediment and rock formations |
| Aquifer | An underground formation that contains groundwater |
| Porosity | The percentage of the total volume of a rock that has spaces |
| Permeability | The ability of a rock or soil to allow water to flow through it |
| Recharge Zone | An area of the Earth's surface from which water percolates down into an aquifer |
| Water Cycle | The continuous movement of water between Earth and the atmosphere |
| Potable water | safe to drink |
| Pathogens | Organisms that cause illness or disease |
| Dam | A structure built across a river to control the river's flow |
| Reservoir | An artificial lake |
| Desalination | The process of removing salt from saltwater |
| Water pollution | The introduction of chemical, physical or biological agents into the water that degrade Water quality and adversely affect the organisms that depend on the water |
| Point-Source Pollution | Pollution discharged from a single source |
| Nonpoint-source Pollution | pollution from many different sources |
| Wastewater | water that contains waste from homes or industry |
| Sewage sludge | The solid material that remains after treatment |
| Artificial Eutrophication | Eutrophication caused by humans |
| Thermal Pollution | When the temperature of a body of water increases (lake or stream etc.) |
| Groundwater Pollution | When the polluted surface water percolates down from the Earth’s surface |
| Ocean Pollution | Pollutants being dumped directly into the ocean water |
| Exxon Valdez 1989 Oil Spill | Oil spill disaster in Prince William Sound, Alaska that made headlines all over the world |
| Biomagnification | The buildup of pollutants at higher levels in the food chain |
| Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA) | Making all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming by 1983 and banned pollutant discharge into surface water after 1985. Metals had to be removed from wastewater as well. |
| Oil Pollution Act of 1990 | This act attempts to protect U.S. waterways from oil pollution by requiring that oil tankers in the U.S. be doubled hulled by 2015 |
| 1972 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuary Act, amended 1988 | Empowered the WPA to control the dumping of sewage wastes and toxic chemicals in the U.S. waters |
| 1975 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), amended 1996 | introduced programs to protect groundwater and surface water from pollution. Also emphasized sound science and risk based standards for water quality. Empowered communities in the protection of source water |
| 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) | Makes owners, operators, and customers of hazardous waste sites responsible for the cleanup of sites. Has reduced pollution of groundwater by toxic substances leached from hazardous waste dumps |
| 1987 Water Quality Act | Written to support state and local efforts to clean runoff pollution. It also established loan funds to pay for new wastewater treatment plants and created programs to protect major estuaries |