Water Kit - Hunter Water

4.5 glossary
Aerate
To charge or treat with air or gas.
Algal bloom
Rapid growth of algae in surface waters
often due to increases in temperature
and nutrients such as nitrogen and
phosphorus.
Amplification
Enlargement or increase in capacity.
Aquifer
Underground geological formations
containing water supplies.
Assets
Resources of a person or business such
as property and machinery. For water
agencies like Hunter Water this includes
dams, pipelines, pumping stations, and
water and wastewater treatment plants.
Auditing
Examine an organisation’s records of
performance to see if they reflect their
actual performance.
Beachwatch
Responsible for reporting ocean beach
water quality.
Biodiversity
The diversity of plant and animal life.
Biosolids
Solids generated during the biological
treatment of wastewater. This is
primarily the micro-organisms that
have been using the wastewater as a
food or energy source and converting
the wastewater into simpler and safer
substances.
Blue-green algae
Aquatic plants which form a green or
blue slime in water. This algae can
produce toxins that can negatively
affect humans and animals.
Bore
A narrow, lined hole drilled to monitor or
withdraw groundwater from an aquifer.
Catchment
An area of land that water travels
through to reach its lowest point,
usually a lake, river or ocean. Also
refers to areas that feed into dams, or
to areas that are served by a sewerage
or stormwater system.
Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010
Cleaner production
A business and industry program to
reduce energy and water consumption
and waste production through better
management strategies or altering
production methods.
Coagulation
Adding a chemical to water/sewage to
remove tiny suspended particles.
Coliforms
Non-pathogenic bacteria that often
indicates microbiological water
contamination.
Condensation
The process of water vapour in the air
turning into liquid water. Water droplets
on the outside of a cool glass are
condensed water.
Conservation
Management and protection of
resources so they are not degraded,
depleted or wasted and are available
on a sustainable basis for present and
future generations.
Contaminants
Pollutants entering and mixing with
water or wastewater, which may require
further treatment before providing
drinking water or disposing of effluent
to waterways.
Demand
The total quantity of water that
individuals, homes, businesses
and industries seek to consume at
prevailing water prices.
Demand Management
Strategies to reduce consumption of
water and the need for new sources.
Dewatering
The removal of water from sludge,
the dewatered sludge is then called a
Biosolid.
Disinfection
Destruction of pathogenic organisms
that can cause infectious disease.
Drought
Periods of less than average precipitation
over a certain period of time.
Ecologically Sustainable
Development
Using, conserving and enhancing
community resources so that the
ecological processes on which life
depends are maintained.
Ecology
The relationship between organisms
and their environment.
Effluent
Final wastewater product after the
purification process is complete.
Environmental Impact
Statement
Detailed report outlining the likely
impacts of a proposed development
and ways to minimise any impacts.
Environmental releases
A release of water from a dam or weir
needed to maintain all aquatic biota
and ecosystem processes.
Erosion
The process where the surface of the
earth is worn away by the constant
action of running water, wind and waves.
Estuary
An enclosed or semi-enclosed coastal
body of water having an open or
intermittently open connection to
marine waters and fresh input from land
runoff which reduces salinity. Water
levels vary in response to ocean tides
and river flows.
Evaporation
Sunlight heats liquid water and converts
it into an invisible gas which rises into
the atmosphere.
Extended ocean outfall
A submarine pipeline to carry treated
wastewater away from the coast into
deep ocean waters to be diluted and
dispersed.
Faecal coliform
Bacteria in the intestines and faeces of
humans and other mammals. FC can be
used to detect sewage pollution.
Filtration
A process for removing particles from a
solution by passing it through a porous
structure or medium, such as a screen,
membrane, sand or gravel.
Global warming
The gradual heating of the earth due
to increasing concentrations of certain
gases in the atmosphere.
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