Glossary of Terms

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO): The release of untreated sewage into streams or rivers when heavy rains cause combined sanitary and storm sewers to fill to capacity and spill over before reaching the sewer treatment plant

Contaminants: Chemical Pollutants

Floodplain: The flat land beside a river or stream, which stores excess water when the river or stream floods.

Fluvial Geomorphology: The study of how land is formed under processes associated with running water. A natural supply of sediment transported by flowing waters is required for a healthy aquatic habitat.  Accelerated movement of sediment, as a result of increased erosion, can easily deteriorate an aquatic habitat.  It can also harm the scenic, recreational and economic value of a stream.

Fresh water: Water that is not salty

Habitat: A home or place where certain groups of plants and animals live in balance and create a healthy ecosystem

Inorganic pollutants: Inorganic pollutants consist of suspended and dissolved solids such as silt, salts, and other minerals carried into streams from streets or exposed soil

Macroinvertebrates: Animals that have no backbone and are visible without magnification

Monitoring: The repeated observation of condition, especially to detect and give warning of change

Native Vegetation: Refers to plants that have always grown in an area as opposed to introduced by man. The animals in our streams use specific tree leaves for food and building material and thrive best when those species are present.

Non-Point Source pollution: Pollution that is carried into streams by stormwater runoff. When it rains, the runoff collects pollutants from streets, lawns, parking lots (oil, gasoline, fertilizer, pesticides, litter, animal wastes) and carries pollutants into the stream

Organic pollutants: Organic pollutants come from the decomposition of living organisms, either plants or animals, and their by-products

Point Source pollution: Pipes connected to a stormwater or sewer collection system or facilities are considered “point sources,” as the pollution empties into the stream at the end of the pipe

ppb – parts per billion: One part per billion is equivalent to one green apple in a barrel with 999,999,999 red apples

ppm – parts per million: One part per million is equivalent to one green apple in a barrel with 999,999 red apples

Riffle: A shallow area of a stream in which water flows rapidly over a rocky or gravelly stream bed

Riparian buffer: A strip of land along a stream where trees, shrubs, and small plants are encouraged to grow. Buffers help keep a stream healthy by reducing erosion to streambanks and by acting as a natural soil filter

Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO): The overflow of a sanitary sewer into a river or stream

Storm sewer: An underground pipe that carries rainwater off pavements, roofs and lawns and into a nearby stream

Streambed: The stream bottom or surface over which a stream flows

Stream flow: Measured as the volume of water. Variations in flow and velocity have major impacts on streambanks, habitat, fish and other aquatic organisms

Swimmable: A term signifying that water is safe for human contact, such as wading and swimming but not drinking

Total coliform: Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other potentially harmful bacteria may be present

Toxic pollutants: Toxic pollutants are heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, chromium, iron and lead) and chemical compounds (PCBs, DDT) that are lethal to organisms or interfere with their normal biological processes at certain concentrations

Watershed: The watershed of a creek, stream or river is all of the land that sheds water into that stream when it rains. When rain falls on land, it drains or runs off to the nearest stream or river that is downhill

Wetland: A soggy habitat such as a swamp, bog or estuary that stores floodwaters and functions as a nursery to many species of fish, amphibians and reptiles. Wetlands also act as natural filters for rivers and streams by removing the pollutants from stormwater runoff