A Watery Alphabet Soup and Word Salad Food for Thought --
Dazzle your Friends and Confound your Enemies as you stir up this soup and toss this Green salad!
If you want more, then try the big glossary!
Aggradation The process by which a stream bed is raised in elevation by deposition of sediment (opposite of "degradation").
Aggravation What you get when you try to deal with all these terms and acronyms.
Alluvial Term used to describe material deposited by running water.
Anadromous Anadromous fish are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean to grow into adults, and then return to fresh water to spawn. Includes salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, etc.
Aquifer One or more geologic formations containing sufficient saturated porous and permeable material to transmit water at a rate sufficient to feed a spring or for economic extraction by a well.
Artificial recharge The deliberate act of adding water to a groundwater aquifer by means of a recharge project; also, the water so added. Artificial recharge can be accomplished via injection wells, spreading basins, or in stream projects. See also incidental recharge, natural recharge, recharge.
Base flow Streamflow derived from groundwater seepage into the stream.
Basin The total area of land that drains water to a central stream, River or other water body. Also called Drainage Basin.
Bioengineering In soil applications, refers to the use of live plants and plant parts to reinforce soil, serve as water drains, act as erosion prevention barriers, and promote dewatering of water laden soils.
Biotechnical In slope stability engineering, refers to the use of both live plant material and inert structures to stabilize and reinforce slopes.
BMP Best Management Practices. Structural, nonstructural and managerial techniques that are recognized to be the most effective and practical means to control nonpoint source pollutants yet are compatible with the productive use of the resource to which they are applied. BMPs are used in both urban and agricultural areas.
Buffer strip The vegetation along a stream left intact after logging.
Canopy Branches and leaves that hang over the water.
Capillary fringe The unsaturated zone immediately above the water table containing water in direct contact with the water table.
Carrying capacity The number or mass of organisms of a species that can live in a given area.
Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force Chehalis Basin Fisheries Taskforce. A non-profit citizens group concerned with stream side restoration and fisheries enhancement.
CBP Chehalis Basin Partnership. A group of counties, cities, tribes, and various other jurisdictions and interest groups within the Chehalis Basin; constituted by an intergovernmental agreement. Concerned with sharing information and administering grants received under ESHB 2514, the watershed management bill.
Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force See Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force
CFRP Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Project, a federal funding program administered by the USFWS. The CFRP primarily funds habitat restoration, project monitoring, and public education projects. Call Mike Kelly at 360-753-9560 for information.
Channel A waterway with obvious banks that contains moving water at least part of the year.
Chehalis Basin District Alliance A local alliance of the Lewis, Grays Harbor, and Thurston conservation districts which was awarded a grant titled the Agriculture Nonpoint Reduction Project and is geared to help dairy operators in the Chehalis Basin TMDL study upstream from the Porter bridge. Two dairy planners were hired to provide technical assistance to the dairy operators in this region, which includes parts of Grays Harbor, Lewis and Thurston Counties.
Chehalis Basin Partnership (CBP) A group of counties, cities, tribes, and various other jurisdictions and interest groups within the Chehalis Basin; constituted by an intergovernmental agreement. Concerned with sharing information and administering grants received under ESHB 2514, the watershed management bill.
Chehalis River Basin Land Trust (CRBLT) A non-profit group that receives conservation easements.
Chehalis River Council (CRC) A non-profit citizens group dedicated to implementation of the goals of the Chehalis River Basin Action Plan of 1992, water quality education, and advocacy on behalf of clean water in the Basin.
Chehalis Tribe "Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Basin." Tribal village is on the Black River near Oakville.
Columbia Pacific RC&D Columbia Pacific Resource, Conservation, and Development. A Grays Harbor county based group that has as its mission "fostering cooperation through natural resources issues and economic development." Under the Jobs for the Environment program, they have trained displaced timber workers to be experts on stream side restoration and have directed restoration projects.
Conservation District A Conservation District is a unit of local government with an elected or appointed volunteer governing board. There are nearly 3,000 conservation districts across the United States helping local people to conserve land, water, forests, wildlife and related natural resources. Their mission is to coordinate assistance from all available sources -- public and private, local, state and federal -- in an effort to develop locally driven solutions to natural resource concerns. They work with employees of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS, an arm of the USDA), which has field offices in every county in Washington.
Consumptive use A use that makes water unavailable for other uses, usually by permanently removing it from local surface or groundwater storage as the result of evaporation and/or transpiration. Does not include evaporative losses from bodies of water. See non-consumptive use.
Contaminant plume A zone of polluted groundwater down-gradient from a point source of pollution.
Cover Any object in the stream that provides protection to fish and other animals. Fish use cover to hide, rest, escape and feed.
CRBLT Chehalis River Basin Land Trust. A non-profit group that receives conservation easements.
CRC Chehalis River Council. A non-profit citizens group dedicated to implementation of the goals of the Chehalis River Basin Action Plan of 1992, water quality education, and advocacy on behalf of clean water in the Basin.
CREP Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. A new program agreed to in principal by the State of Washington and the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Intended to enhance habitat for salmon species listed under the ESA throughout the State via the establishment of riparian buffers to reduce solar water temperature heating and control sedimentation. It is a voluntary program that uses financial incentives to encourage farmers and ranchers to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in contracts of 10 to 15 years duration to remove lands from agricultural production.
CRP Conservation Reserve Program. A program of the USDA, pays farmers to take highly erodible land out of production. Offers annual rental payments, incentive payments for certain activities, and cost-share assistance to establish approved cover on approved cropland or on marginal pasture land next to streams, rivers, or lakes. Administered by the Commodity Credit Corporation through the Farm Service Agency. The conservation districts provide local support.
CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Expands the research and higher education functions of the former Cooperative State Research Service and the education and outreach functions of the former Extension Service. This is the federal oversight agency for county agents, 4-H leadership, etc. Among other research and education activities, the CSREES has over 9,600 local extension agents working in 3,150 counties; over 9,500 scientists conducting research at 59 state agricultural experiment stations; farm safety education programs in all 50 states and Puerto Rico; pesticide applicator programs which train over half a million people each year in safe and environmentally sound pesticide use; international education programs taught by over 200 extension professionals in 17 countries. (See WSU Cooperative Extension.)
CWA The federal Clean Water Act, Public Law 92-500, as amended by Public Law 96-483 and Public Law 97-117, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. The Clean Water Act (CWA) contains a number of provisions to restore and maintain the quality of the nation's water resources. One of these provisions is section 303(d), which establishes the TMDL program.
Degradation The process by which a stream bed is lowered in elevation by removal or scouring of sediment (opposite of "aggradation"). This term is also used to refer to a damaged condition of habitat.
Deposition The process of sediment falling out of the water onto the stream bed in areas of lower flow and energy
Discharge The volume of water that flows past a given place during a certain amount of time. Discharge is often referred to in cubic feet per second (cfs).
DNR Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
DO Dissolved oxygen. The amount of oxygen that is dissolved in water. It also refers to a measure of the amount of oxygen available for biochemical activity in water body, and as indicator of the quality of that water.
DOE Washington State Department of Ecology. Preferred term is "Ecology" rather than DOE.
DOW Drops of Water . The monthly newspaper insert covering water related activities in the Chehalis Basin. Published by the Chehalis River Council.
Eddy A circular current of water usually formed at a bend or obstruction in the stream.
Effluent Treated wastewater discharged from sewage treatment plants. See tertiary treatment.
EIS Environmental Impact Statement. May be required by the State Environmental Policy Act if a project permitted by an agency of government, or a project of government, is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment.
EPA Federal Environmental Protection Agency.
EQIP Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program was created as part of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act of 1996. EQIP has $130 million in 1996 and $200 million annually thereafter for cost-sharing conservation practices. It allocates half for crop production and half for small-to medium-size livestock operations and requires that the participants implement a conservation plan to control agricultural pollution.
ESA Federal Endangered Species Act. The federal law that prohibits "taking" of species that have been listed as in danger of becoming extinct. "Take" is defined in the Endangered Species Act as harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect any threatened or endangered species. Harm may include significant habitat modification where it actually kills or injures a listed species through impairment of essential behavior (e.g., nesting or reproduction).
Erosion The wearing away of rock or soil and the movement of the resulting particles by wind, water, ice, or gravity.
ESHB 2514 Engrossed Substitute House Bill #2514. The Watershed Management Act, which provides funding and a planning framework for locally based watershed management. Provides an opportunity to improve or protect water quality, habitat and in stream flows.
ESHB 2496 Engrossed Substitute House Bill #52496. The Salmon Recovery Planning Act, which provides funding and a procedural framework for prioritizing salmon restoration within specified areas agreed to by participating county, city, and tribal government.
Estuary The area where fresh and salt water mix at the mouth of a river. Estuaries are important areas that are used as rearing habitat by many fish species and other animals.
ESU Evolutionarily Significant Unit. An ESU is population of organisms that is reproductively isolated from other populations of the same species, and represents an important component in the evolutionary legacy of the species. Populations of pacific salmon are broken into ESUs for the purposes of the Endangered Species Act. For example, the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon ESU is currently proposed to be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
Evaporation The process of liquid water becoming water vapor, including vaporization from water surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from leaf surfaces. Compare with transpiration
Evapotranspiration The sum of evaporation and transpiration.
Extinction is Not an Option The draft Statewide Salmon Recovery Strategy developed by the Joint Natural Resources Cabinet (JNTC).
Federal land managers Federal lands are managed by the Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Department of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service), and the Department of Defense.
FFA Farm Forestry Association. An organization that represents NIPFs at the state wide level. The local group is the Lewis County Farm Forestry Association, and it is a member of the Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA).
Floodplain The low areas along a stream into which water spreads during a flood .
Floodplain, 100 year Those lands that are subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any year .
Floodway Those portions of the floodplain adjoining and including the channel of a River or stream which discharges the flood water and flow of that water or stream. It is any place where the water is moving with velocity and a definite current, but does not include other portions of the floodplain where the water is just standing.
Freshet A rapid rise in stream flow due to runoff from rain or snowmelt .
FSA Farm Service Agency. An agency of the US Department of Agriculture that administers payment and cost share programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Gaging station A site on a stream, lake, reservoir or other body of water where direct systematic observations of hydrologic data are obtained .
GHCD Grays Harbor Conservation District. (See definition of Conservation District.)
GIS Geographic Information Systems. An organized collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information.
Gradient The amount that a stream drops in elevation over a distance; the stream's steepness .
Ground Water Code Passed in 1945, the State Ground Water Code was an extension of the 1917 Water Code. It created a permit system for all uses of ground water, except withdrawals of less than 5,000 gallons per day.
Groundwater Subsurface water body in the zone of saturation, or more commonly, available groundwater is defined as: That portion of the water beneath the surface of the earth that can be collected with wells, tunnels, or drainage galleries, or that flows naturally to the earth's surface via seeps or springs.
Habitat In the simplest terms, it is the place where something lives. Habitat includes all the things, such as food and shelter, that an organism needs to live at any point in its life. For example, one may talk about "rearing habitat" for juvenile coho salmon, which may be a streamside pond. This habitat is different than the habitat that a coho salmon occupies as an adult in the ocean.
HCP Habitat Conservation Plan. As part of the Endangered Species Act, Habitat Conservation Plans are designed to protect a species while allowing development or use of the land. HCPs give the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the authority to permit "taking" of endangered or threatened species as long as the impact is lessened by conservation measures. It allows a landowner to determine how best to meet the agreed-upon fish and wildlife goals and helps conserve the species.
Hydraulic continuity The term refers to the natural interconnection between ground and surface water.
Hydrologic cycle 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 bodies of water.
IFIM Instream flow incremental methodology. The state-of-the-art method for determining in stream flow requirements for fish. IFIM is based on the understanding that fish prefer water with a certain depth and velocity. IFIM refers to a series of computer-based models that show how changes in available habitat will result from increases or decreases in streamflow.
Incidental recharge Water incidentally added to a groundwater aquifer due to human activities, such as excess irrigation water applied to fields or water discharged as waste after a use. See also recharge, artificial recharge, natural recharge.
Instream Flow The amount of water remaining in a stream without diversion, that is required to maintain a particular aquatic environment or water use.
Intragravel flow Water that moves between gravel or other particles in the stream bed; important for fish eggs and young fish in the gravel.
Jargon Words and phrases only you and a small circle of friends know. Used for flashing around to show who is in and who is out.
JNRC Joint Natural Resources Cabinet. A special group convened by Governor Locke to develop a Statewide Salmon Strategy. Includes all the major state agency heads.
LCCD Lewis County Conservation District. (See definition of Conservation District.)
LWD Large woody debris. Pieces of wood in the stream that are at least 10 centimeters thick and one meter long. LWD forms pools, provides cover, and protects many important habitat areas for fish.
Macroinvertebrates Animals without backbones that are big enough to see with the naked eye. Examples include most aquatic insects, snails and crayfish.
Mainstem The principle stream or River of a particular basin. The Chehalis River is the mainstem of the Chehalis Basin.
Meander A turn or winding of a stream.
Natural recharge Naturally occurring water added to an aquifer. Natural recharge generally comes from snowmelt and storm runoff. See also recharge, artificial recharge, incidental recharge.
NIPF Non-industrial Private Forest. A private forest that harvests less than 2 million board feet (approximately one 40 acre clear-cut of DF at age 50) per year.
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service. The NMFS has jurisdiction over anadromous and marine fish and administer the EPA for these species. Anadromous fish are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean to grow into adults, and then return to fresh water to spawn. Marine fish spend their entire life in salt water.
Non-consumptive use A use that leaves the water available for other uses. Examples are power generation and recreational uses. See consumptive use.
pH A measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of water. Defined as the negative log (base 10) of the hydrogen ion concentration. Water with a pH of 7 is neutral; lower pH levels indicate increasing acidity, while pH levels above 7 indicate increasingly basic solutions.
NPS Nonpoint source pollution. Occurs when water runs off land or through the ground, picks up pollutants, and deposits them in surface waters or introduces them into groundwater. Pollution that does not come from a single source, such as a pipe or ditch.
NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service. Formerly the Soil Conservation Service. The NRCS is the federal agency (a division of the USDA) that works with people to help sustain natural resources on private lands. They work in close cooperation with conservation districts through NRCS field offices that service every county in the state.
Off-channel habitat Ponds, channels or wetlands that are connected to the main channel of a stream. Juvenile coho salmon often spend at least part of their fresh water lives in off- channel habitat.
Perfected Water Right A completed or fully executed water right. A water right is said to have been perfected when all terms and conditions associated with it have been fully accomplished.
Point source A source of water pollution that originates from a single point, such as an outflow pipe from a factory. See NPS.
Pool A part of the stream that is usually deeper than the surrounding water and has slower current. Pools are often formed by scouring under or around an obstacle, by plunging over logs or rocks, or by side channels.
Pool-riffle ratio The total area of pools compared to the total area of riffles in a stream. In habitat restoration we often try to increase the number of pools by adding large woody debris. Most healthy streams in forested areas have a high pool-riffle ratio.
Potable water Water of a quality suitable for drinking.
Primary treatment A physical process in which the sewage flow is slowed down in settling tanks or lagoons. The thicker part of the wastewater -- the sludge -- is then removed from the bottom and disposed of in a variety of ways. Floatable solids, oil and grease are usually skimmed off the surface before the remaining effluent is discharged into a waterbody.
Prior Appropriation Doctrine The western system of water appropriation that establishes water rights based on the seniority of use - i.e. an individual's right to a specific quantity of water depends on when the use began.
Rapids Steep section of stream with swift current and lots of surface agitation and some waves.
RCW Revised Code of Washington. State laws.
Recharge To add water to an aquifer; also, the water added to an aquifer. See also artificial recharge, incidental recharge, natural recharge.
Reserved Water Right A water right recognized by judicial decision to have been created under federal law by a federal reservation of land in an amount sufficient to meet the purposes of the reservation. The right is not lost through nonuse, and its priority date is the date the land was set aside.
Riffle Shallow rapids with surface agitation, but no waves.
Rill A tiny drainage channel cut in a slope by the flow of water. Can develop into a gully with continuing erosion.
Riparian habitat Natural home for plants and animals occurring on the land bordering a stream or river.
Riparian Anything associated with the banks of a stream, River or other water body. Often used to describe the vegetation along a stream.
Rock job Bank stabilization achieved by lining the stream side with rocks or rip rap.
Rootwad The mass of roots of a tree. Rootwads of fallen trees in the stream can form large pools and provide excellent cover.
Run Swiftly flowing part of a stream with little surface agitation and no major obstructions.
Runoff That part of rain and snowmelt that runs over the ground and into a stream or other water body.
Salmonid Fish of the family Salmonidae . These include salmon, trout, char, and whitefish.
Scour Removal of sediment from the stream bed by flowing water.
SCS Soil Conservation Service of the US Department of Agriculture. This title is no longer used; Natural Resources Conservation Service is the new term.
Secondary treatment Also known as biological treatment, further reduces the amount of solids by helping bacteria and other microorganisms consume the organic material in the sewage. Oxygen is critical to this treatment stage. Air activated sludge and biological filters are two of many methods of secondary treatment.
Sediment The silt, sand, rocks, wood and other solid material that gets washed out from some places and deposited in others.
SEPA State Environmental Policy Act, the state law designed to protect the natural resources of the state. SEPA checklists are completed by an applicant and reviewed by a lead agency. If there is a significant environmental impact an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required.
SMA Stream side management areas. A term used in describing how stream buffers will be managed for forested lands.
Shade the Chehalis Shade the Chehalis. A program encouraging planting native species on streams and creeks in the Chehalis Basin. Sponsored by the Chehalis River Council.
Stream Type The state of Washington gives streams a designation of 1 to 5 in order to set regulations for logging, developing, etc. The type number is determined largely by stream size and fish use. In general, the smaller the number, the larger the stream.
Stream bed The stream bottom.
Stream order A number given to a stream segment that indicates its relative size. The smallest permanent streams in a basin are given a "1" (first order). When two first order streams meet they form a second order stream, and so on.
Streamflow The discharge that occurs in a natural channel. A more general term than runoff, streamflow may be applied to discharge whether or not it is affected by diversion or regulation.
Tailout The shallow area where water flows out of a pool. Salmon often spawn in the tailout of a pool.
TCD Thurston Conservation District. (See definition of Conservation District.)
Technical term One word that stands for an explanation so long that everyone would go to sleep before you finished saying it.
Tertiary treatment Postsecondary treatment of water designed to improve the quality of the water to the point where it can be put to a particular beneficial use.
Thalweg The deepest area running along the stream bed. Usually where the fastest water runs.
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load. The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) addresses waters that are not "fishable or swimmable" by requiring each state to identify the waters and to develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for them, with oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A TMDL is an assessment of how much pollution "load" the stream can accept and still meet federal and state water quality standards. A TMDL allocates pollution control responsibilities among pollution sources in a watershed, and is the basis for taking the actions needed to restore a water body. The Washington DOE administers the TMDL process for the EPA in this state. Technically, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is the sum of the individual wasteload allocations (WLAs) for point sources, load allocations (LAs) for nonpoint sources and natural background, and a margin of safety (MOS). TMDLs can be expressed in terms of mass per time, toxicity, or other appropriate measure that relates to a state's water quality standard.
Transpiration The vaporization of water given off by plants. See also evaporation and evapotranspiration
Tributary A stream that feeds into a larger stream. Also called a "feeder stream."
USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture.
USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Among many other activities, administers the Endangered Species Act for animals other than those that spend all or part of their life in the ocean.
WAC Washington Administrative Code. State agency rules and regulations that implement State law.
Water table The upper boundary of a free groundwater body, at atmospheric pressure.
Wetland Land with a wet, spongy soil, where the water table is at or above the land surface for at least part of the year. There are a number of different wetlands indicators (soil type, plants, etc.) that determine whether a piece of land is legally considered a wetland.
Water Right A legal right to divert state waters for a beneficial purpose. Washington State law requires certain users of public water to receive approval from the state prior to actual use of the water. Approval is granted in the form of a water right permit or certificate.
Water Right Claim A water right claim is a statement of claim to a water use that began before the State Water Codes were adopted and is not covered by a permit or certificate.
Water Code Passed in 1917, the State Water Code establishes a permit system for using surface water. It also established procedures for adjudicating all water rights prior to the act.
Water Resources Act of 1971 Designed to protect and manage our water resources for "the greatest benefit of the people." The act mandates water resources data collection and management and development of plans.
Watershed The area drained by a River or stream, including the area drained by its tributaries. Natural watershed boundaries are ridges that divide one drainage area from another.
WFWS Washington State Fish and Wildlife Service
WRIA Water Resource Inventory Area (often pronounced "why-ruh") A term established by WAC 173.500.040. The state has been divided into 62 geographic regions based on topography and economic conditions. Sometimes a WRIA coincides with a watershed, while in other cases it may include all or part of several watersheds. Or a watershed may be so large that it is divided into more than one WRIA. The upper Chehalis basin is WRIA 23 while the lower Chehalis Basin is WRIA 22.
WSDOT Washington State Department of Transportation.
WSU Cooperative Extension Washington State University Cooperative Extension. The federal Smith-Lever Act of 1914 gave each land-grant university a mandate to extend results of research and experience based knowledge to the people of the state in order to improve the quality of their lives and enterprises. The provisions of this act create a unique partnership of governments called Cooperative Extension. Cooperative Extension is a nationwide network that combines federal, state, and local expertise and resources to bring non-credit, practical education to the people. Brings you your county agent, noxious weed board, 4-H, master gardener program, etc.
Some of these definitions are from: "A Glossary of Stream and Habitat Terms," Drops of Water , May, 1997 by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Chehalis Fisheries Restoration Program. Others are gathered from a variety of sources including a glossary of water words on the Chehalis River Council website: http://www.crcwater.org Any errors are the responsibility of Margaret Rader, editor.
The Chehalis River Council, October, 2000
Chehalis River Council 417 N. Pearl St. Centralia, WA 98531 E-mail crc@crcwater.org
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