DEPARTAMENTO DE LINGÜÍSTICA

INGLÉS III – 2023

WATER
Vocabulary

Types of Water

Blackwater — Water that contains animal, human, or food wastes; wastewater from toilet, latrine, and water from
flushing and sinks used for food preparation or disposal of chemical or chemical-biological ingredients.

Bottled Water — Water sold commercially generally for its health, therapeutic, or purity values.

Carbonated Water — Effervescent water, usually containing salts, charged under pressure with purified carbon dioxide
gas, used as a beverage or mixer. Also referred to as soda water, club soda, or seltzer.

Clean (Water) — Water that is free from foreign matter or pollution; not infected; unadulterated.

Drinking Water — A term used synonymously with Potable Water. It refers to water that meets federal drinking
water standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act as well as state and local water quality standards and is considered
safe for human consumption. Freshwater that exceeds established standards for chloride content and dissolved solids
limits is often referred to as slightly saline, brackish, or non-potable water and is either diluted with fresher water or
treated through a desalination process to meet drinking-water standards for public supply.

Freshwater (Fresh Water) — (1) Of, relating to, living in, or consisting of water that is not salty. (2) Water with salinity
less than 0.5‰ (parts per thousand) dissolved salts. (3) 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.

Graywater (Gray Water or Greywater) — (1) Wastewater from a household or small commercial establishment which
specifically excludes water from a toilet, kitchen sink, dishwasher, or water used for washing diapers. (2) Wastewater
from clothes washing machines, showers, bathtubs, hand washing, lavatories and sinks that are not used for disposal of
chemicals or chemical-biological ingredients.

Ground Water (Groundwater) —Water that flows or seeps downward and saturates soil or rock, supplying springs and
wells. The upper level of the saturate zone is called the Water Table.

Hard Water — Water which forms a precipitate with soap due to the presence of calcium, magnesium, or ferrous ions in
solution.

(Harvested) Rainwater — The rain that falls on a roof or yard and is channeled by gutters or channels to a storage
tank. The first wash of water on a roof is usually discarded and the subsequent rainfall is captured for use if the system
is being used for potable water.
Irrigation Water — Water diverted or pumped for irrigation of crops or pasture. It does not include undiverted water
which naturally floods unimproved pastures by overflow during high-runoff years, and water which may beneficially sub
irrigate land for which no other source of water is diverted

Mineral Water — Naturally occurring or prepared water that contains dissolved mineral salts, elements, or gases,
often used therapeutically.

Non-Potable — Used to describe water that is not suitable for drinking because it contains pollutants, contaminants,
minerals, or infective agents.

Potable Water — Water that is drinkable. Specifically, freshwater that generally meets the standards in quality as
established in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Drinking Water Standards for drinking water throughout
the United States. Potable water is considered safe for human consumption and is often referred to as Drinking Water.
Freshwater that exceeds established chloride and dissolved solids limits is often referred to as slightly saline, brackish, or
non-potable water and is either diluted with fresher water or treated through a desalination process to meet potable
water standards for public supply.

Raw Water — Water that is direct from the source — ground or surface water — without any treatment.

Recycled Water — (1) Water that is used more than one time before it passes back into the natural hydrologic system.
(2) Water that is used more than one time by the same users.

Running Water — Water distributed through pipes and fixtures as a house with hot and cold running water.

Safe Water — Water that does not contain harmful bacteria, toxic materials, or chemicals, and is considered safe for
drinking even if it may have taste, odor, color, and certain mineral problems.

Saltwater — Water which contains a relatively high percentage of sodium chloride.

Sanitary Water — Water discharged from sinks, showers, kitchens, or other nonindustrial operations, but not from
commodes.

Seawater — The saltwater in or coming from the sea or ocean.

Sparkling Water — Water charged with carbon dioxide (CO2).

Stressed Waters — A portion of an aquatic environment with poor species diversity due to human actions. If a facility
applying for a water permit will discharge into an aquatic system that is stressed by the actions of others, then it will
not be held responsible for the existing poor conditions but must demonstrate to the environmental agency issuing the
permit that further degradation will not occur as a result of its effluent.

Surface Water — (1) An open body of water such as a stream, lake, or reservoir. (2) Water that remains on the earth’s
surface; all waters whose surface is naturally exposed to the atmosphere, for example, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds,
streams, impoundments, seas, estuaries, etc., and all springs, wells, or other collectors directly influenced by surface
water.

Tap Water — Water withdrawn directly from a tap or faucet.

Wastewater — A combination of liquid and water-carried pollutants from homes, businesses, industries, or farms; a
mixture of water and dissolved or suspended solids.

White Water — Turbulent or frothy water, as in rapids or surf.

Places where we can find water

Aquarium — (1) A tank, bowl, or other water-filled enclosure in which living fish or other aquatic animals and plants are
kept. (2) A place for the public exhibition of live aquatic animals and plants

Aquifer — (1) A geologic formation, a group of formations, or a part of a formation that is water bearing. (2) A geological
formation or structure that stores or transmits water, or both, such as to wells and springs. (3) An underground layer of
porous rock, sand, or gravel containing large amounts of water. Use of the term is usually restricted to those water
bearing structures capable of yielding water in sufficient quantity to constitute a usable supply.

Bed — The bottom of a body of water, such as a stream. Blue Water — The open sea.

Canal — A constructed open channel for transporting water from the source of supply to the point of distribution.

Cascade — A short, steep drop in stream bed elevation often marked by boulders and agitated white water.

Channel — A natural stream that conveys water; a natural or artificial watercourse with definite bed and banks to
confine and conduct flowing water; a ditch or channel excavated for the flow of water. River, creek, run, branch,
anabranch, and tributary are some of the terms used to describe natural channels, which may be single or braided.
Canal, aqueduct, and floodway are some of the terms used to describe artificial (man-made) channels.

Conservation Pool — A residual pool maintained in a reservoir to support fish and other aquatic life.

Current — (1) The portion of a stream or body of water which is moving with a velocity much greater than the average
of the rest of the water. The progress of the water is principally concentrated in the current. (2) The swiftest part of a
stream; (3) A tidal or nontidal movement of lake or ocean water

Dam — A structure of earth, rock, or concrete designed to form a basin and hold water back to make a pond, lake, or
reservoir. A barrier built, usually across a watercourse, for impounding or diverting the flow of water.

Delta — (1) An alluvial deposit made of rock particles (sediment and debris) dropped by a stream as it enters a body of
water. (2) A plain underlain by an assemblage of sediments that accumulate where a stream flows into a body of
standing water where its velocity and transporting power are suddenly reduced. (3) The low, nearly flat, alluvial tract of
land deposited at or near the mouth of a river, commonly forming a triangular or fan-shaped plain of considerable area
enclosed and crossed by many distributaries of the main river. Originally so named because many deltas are roughly
triangular in plan, like the Greek letter delta ( ), with the apex pointing upstream.
Estuary — (1) An area where freshwater meets saltwater; for example, bays, mouths of rivers, salt marshes, and
lagoons.

Faucet — A device for regulating the flow of a liquid from a reservoir such as a pipe or drum.

Fountain — (1) An artificially created jet or stream of water; a structure, often decorative, from which a jet or stream of
water issues

Geyser — A periodic thermal spring that results from the expansive force of super-heated steam. Also, a special type of
thermal spring which intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air with considerable force.

Ground Water Reservoir — An aquifer or aquifer system in which ground water is stored. The water may be introduced
into the aquifer by artificial or natural means.

High Sea — The open part of a sea or ocean, especially outside territorial waters; usually used in plural.

Irrigation Canal — A permanent irrigation conduit constructed to convey water from the source of supply to one or more
farms.

Lagoon — (1) A shallow lake or pond, especially one connected with a larger body of water. (2) The area of water
enclosed by a circular coral reef, or atoll. (3) An area of shallow saltwater separated from the sea by sand dunes. (4) A
metaphorical term for the ponding area behind a Pleistocene offshore or barrier bar (beaches) that collects fine textured
sediments. (5) (Water Quality) Lagoons are scientifically constructed ponds in which sunlight, algae, and oxygen interact
to restore water to a quality equal to effluent from a secondary treatment plant.

Lake — A considerable body of inland water or an expanded part of a river.

Mouth of Stream — The point of discharge of a stream into another stream, a lake, or the sea.

Oasis — A fertile or green spot in a desert or wasteland, made so by the presence of water.

Ocean — Generally, the whole body of saltwater which covers nearly three fourths of the surface of the globe divided
into the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Oceans.

Pond — A body of water smaller than a lake, often artificially formed.

Puddle — (1) A small pool of water usually a few inches deep and from several inches to several feet across. (2) An
accumulation of meltwater on ice due to melting snow or ice.

Reservoir (Water) — (1) A pond, lake, or basin, either natural or artificial, for the storage, regulation, and control of
water. (2) An artificially created lake in which water is collected and stored for future use.

River — A natural stream of water of considerable volume, larger than a brook or creek. A river has its stages of
development, youth, maturity, and old age. In its earliest stages a river system drains its basin imperfectly; as valleys are
deepened, the drainage becomes more perfect, so that in maturity the total drainage area is large and the rate of
erosion high. The final stage is reached when wide flats have developed, and the bordering lands have been brought low.

Rapids — A part of a stream where the current is moving with a greater swiftness than usual and where the water
surface is broken by obstructions, but without enough break in slope to form a waterfall, as where the water descends
over a series of small steps. It commonly results from a sudden steepening of the stream gradient, from the presence of
a restricted channel, or from the unequal resistance of the successive rocks traversed by the stream.

Sea — (1) One of the larger bodies of saltwater, less than an ocean, landlocked and generally forming part of, or
connecting with, an ocean or a larger sea. (2) An inland body of water, especially if large or if salty or brackish.

Spring (Water) — (1) A concentrated discharge of ground water coming out at the surface as flowing water; a place
where the water table crops out at the surface of the ground and where water flows out continuously. (2) A place where
groundwater flows naturally from a rock or the soil into the land surface or into a body of surface water. Its occurrence
depends on the nature and relationship of rocks, especially permeable and impermeable strata, on the position of the
water table, and on the topography.

Stream — A general term for a body of flowing water; natural water course containing water at least part of the year. In
hydrology, the term is generally applied to the water flowing in a natural channel as distinct from a canal.

Swell — A long wave on water that moves continuously without breaking.

Tap — A valve and spout used to regulate delivery of a fluid at the end of a pipe. See Faucet.

Thermal Spring — A spring that brings warm or hot water to the surface. Sometimes called a warm spring, or hot spring.
Temperature usually 15EF (9.4EC) or more above mean air temperatures.

Tidal Wave — (1) An unusual rise or incursion of water along the seashore, as from a storm or a combination of wind
and spring tide. (2) A Tsunami; a huge sea wave caused by a great disturbance under an ocean, as a strong earthquake
or volcanic eruption.

Tributary — (1) A stream which joins another stream or body of water. (2) A stream or other body of water, surface or
underground, which contributes its water, even though intermittently and in small quantities, to another and larger
stream or body of water.

Tsunami — A huge sea wave caused by a great disturbance under an ocean, as a strong earthquake or volcanic eruption.
Waterfall — A sudden, nearly vertical drop in a stream, as it flows over rock.

Water Table — The surface of a groundwater body at which the water is at atmospheric pressure; the upper surface of
the ground water reservoir.

Well (Water) — (1) An excavation (pit, hole, tunnel), generally cylindrical in form and often walled in, drilled, dug, driven,
bored, or jetted into the ground to such a depth as to penetrate water-yielding geologic material and allow the water to
flow or to be pumped to the surface. (2) An artificial excavation put down by any method for the purposes of
withdrawing water from the underground aquifers.

Whirlpool — A rapidly rotating current of water; a Vortex.

Actions

Divert (water) — To cause something to change direction.

Drown — To kill by submerging and suffocating in water or another liquid.

Flush — To be emptied or cleaned by a rapid flow of water, as a toilet.

Irrigate— To supply (dry land) with water by means of ditches, pipes, or streams; to water artificially.

Water — To pour water on to plants or the soil that they are growing in.

Wade — To walk in or through water or something else that similarly impedes normal movement.

Using water

Agribusiness — The sum of all operations involved in the production, storage, processing, and wholesale marketing of
agricultural products

Aqueduct — (1) A pipe, conduit, or channel designed to transport water from a remote source, usually by gravity. (2)
A bridge-like structure supporting a conduit or canal passing over a river or low ground.

Combined Sewer System (CSS) — A sewage system that carries both sanitary sewage and storm water runoff. During dry
weather, combined sewers carry all wastewater for treatment. During storm events, part of the load may be intercepted
to prevent overloading of the processing facility. In this case, the untreated portion is frequently allowed to enter the
receiving stream.

Drainpipe — A pipe for carrying off water or sewage

Drinking Water Supply — Water provided for use in households. The most common sources are from surface
supplies (rivers, lakes, and reservoirs) or subsurface supplies (aquifers).

Geothermal Energy — The heat energy available in the earth’s subsurface, extracted from three basic sources:
(1) steam; (2) hot water; and (3) hot rocks or near surface intrusions of volcanic molten rock.

Gutter — (1) A channel at the edge of a street or road for carrying off surface water. (2) A trough fixed under or along
the eaves of a building for draining rainwater from a roof.

Hydroelectric Plant (Conventional) — A hydroelectric power plant which utilizes streamflow only once as the water
passes downstream; electric power plant in which the energy of falling water is used to spin a turbine generator to
produce electricity.

Hydroelectric Plant (Pumped Storage) — A hydroelectric power plant which generates electric power during peak
load periods by using water pumped into a storage reservoir during off-peak periods.
Hydroelectric Power — Power (hydroelectricity) produced using water power as a source of energy. Electrical
energy generated by means of a power generator coupled to a turbine through which water passes.

Industrial Wastewater Facility — Refers to those facilities that produce, treat or dispose of wastewater not otherwise
defined as domestic wastewater. May include the runoff and leachate from areas that receive pollutants associated
with industrial or commercial storage, handling, or processing.

Pipeline — A conduit of pipe, especially one used for the conveyance of water, gas, or petroleum products.

Plumber — One who installs, repairs, and maintains piping, fittings, and fixtures involved in the distribution and use of
water in a building.

Plumbing — The pipes, fixtures, and other apparatus of a water, gas, or sewage system in a building.

Pump — A device which moves, compresses, or alters the pressure of a fluid, such as water or air, being conveyed
through a natural or artificial channel.

Raw Sewage — Untreated domestic or commercial wastewater.

Sanitary Sewer — A pipe or network of pipes which transport only municipal, commercial, or industrial
wastewater (sewage) and not rain or storm waters from streets.

Sewage — The liquid waste from domestic, commercial, and industrial establishments.

Sewage Lagoon — A shallow pond where natural processes are employed to treat sanitary waste from households or
public restrooms.

Sewage System — Pipelines or conduits, pumping stations, force mains, and all other structures, devices, and facilities
used for collecting or conducting wastes to a point for treatment or disposal.

Sewage Treatment Plant — A facility designed to receive the wastewater from domestic sources and to remove
materials that damage water quality and threaten public health and safety when discharged into receiving streams or
bodies of water.

Sewer — The piping system or conduit used to carry runoff water or wastewater. Sewerage — The entire system of
sewage collection, treatment, and disposal.

Storm Sewer — A sewer that carries only surface runoff, street wash, and snow melt from the land. In a separate
sewer system, storm sewers are separate from those that carry domestic and commercial wastewater (sanitary
sewers).

Tidal Energy — The mechanical energy associated with the rising and falling of water level during the movement of the
tides.
Tidal Power — A form of power obtained from the filling and emptying of a Bay or an Estuary that can be closed by a
dam. The enclosed basin can fill and empty only during brief periods at high and low tides in order to develop as much
power as possible.

Tidal Wave — (1) An unusual rise or incursion of water along the seashore, as from a storm or a combination of wind
and spring tide. (2) A tsunami; a huge sea wave caused by a great disturbance under an ocean, as a strong earthquake or
volcanic eruption. (3) An overwhelming manifestation; a flood.

Treatment Plant — A structure built to treat wastewater before discharging it into the environment.

Wastewater Treatment Plant — A water effluent treatment facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters and
other mechanical, biological, and chemical processes by which pollutants are removed from water.

Water Conservation — The physical control, protection, management, and use of water resources in such a way as to
maintain crop, grazing, and forest lands, vegetative cover, wildlife, and wildlife habitat for maximum sustained benefits
to people, agriculture, industry, commerce, and other segments of the national economy.

Water Desalination — The removal of salts, such as from a saline water supply.

Water Reclamation — The treatment of water of impaired quality, including brackish water and sea water, to produce a
water of suitable quality for the intended use.

Water Rights — (1) The legal rights to the use of water. (2) A grant, permit, decree, appropriation, or claim to the use of
water for beneficial purposes, and subject to other rights of earlier date or use.

Extra

Acid Rain — Rainfall with a pH of less than 7.0.

Bank — The slope of land adjoining a body of water, especially adjoining a river, lake, or a channel. With respect to
flowing waters, banks are either right or left as viewed facing in the direction of the flow.

Breakwater — A barrier that protects a harbor or shore from the full impact of waves.

Drought — Generally, the term is applied to periods of less than average or normal precipitation over a certain period
sufficiently prolonged to cause a serious hydrological imbalance resulting in biological losses (impact flora and fauna
ecosystems) and/or economic losses (affecting man). In a less precise sense, it can also signify nature’s failure to fulfill
the water wants and needs of man.

Flash Flood, also Flashflood — A sudden flood of great volume, usually caused by a heavy rain. Also, a flood that crests
in a short length of time (hours or minutes) and is often characterized by high velocity flows. It is often the result of
heavy rainfall in a localized area.
Flood — A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation or normally dry land areas from: (1)
overflow of inland or tidal waters; (2) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source;
(3) mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flood, as defined above, and are akin to a river of liquid
and flowing mud on the surface of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited
along the path of the current; and (4) the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water
as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding the cyclical levels which result in
flood.

Flooding — Temporary inundation of all or part of the floodplain along a well-defined channel or temporary localized
inundation occurring when surface water runoff moves via surface flow, swales, channels, and sewers toward well
defined channels.

Flushless Toilet — A toilet that disposes of waste without using water, especially one that utilizes bacteria to break down
waste matter.

Gallon [U.S.] — A unit of capacity, containing four quarts, used in the United States primarily for liquid measure.
One U.S. gallon contains 231 cubic inches, 0.133 cubic feet, or 3.7853 liters.

Glacier — A huge mass of ice, formed on land by the compaction and recrystallization of snow, that moves very slowly
downslope or outward due to its own weight.

Hailstone — A hard pellet of snow and ice.

High Tide — (1) The tide at its fullest extent, when the water reaches its highest level. (2) The time at which this tide
occurs. The high-high and low-high tides are the higher and lower of the two high tides, respectively, of each tidal
day.

Jet — A forceful stream of fluid (as water or gas) discharged from a narrow opening or a nozzle.

Landfill — (Water Quality) A disposal site which disposes of solid wastes on land. Wastes are deposited and compacted.
At specific intervals, a layer of soil covers the waste and the process of deposit and compaction is repeated. The purpose
is to confine the wastes to the smallest practical area and volume without creating nuisances or hazards to public health
and safety, for example through leaching into the groundwater below the waste site.

Landlocked — Enclosed or nearly enclosed by land, as a landlocked country without access to the sea or ocean.

Landslide — A mass of material that has slipped downhill under the influence of gravity, frequently occurring when
the material is saturated with water.

Levee — (1) A natural or man-made earthen obstruction along the edge of a stream, lake, or river. Also, a long, low
embankment usually built to restrain the flow of water out of a riverbank and protect land from flooding. If built of
concrete or masonry, the structure is usually referred to as a flood wall. The term Dike is commonly used to describe
embankments that block an area on a reservoir rim that are lower than the top of the main dam.

Liter — The basic unit of measurement for volume in the Metric System equivalent to 0.001 cubic meters (10–3
m3); also equal to 61.025 cubic inches or 1.0567 liquid quarts.

Low Tide — (1) The lowest level of the tide; the minimum height reached by each falling tide. (2) The time at which the
tide is lowest. The high-low and low-low tides are the higher and lower of the two low tides, respective, of each tidal
day.

Mud — (1) A slimy sticky mixture of solid material with a liquid and especially water; especially soft wet earth. (2) Also,
wet soft earth composed predominantly of clay and silt — fine mineral sediments less than 0.074 mm (0.0029 inch) in
diameter.

Mudslide — A condition where there is a river, flow or inundation of liquid mud down a hillside usually as a result of a
dual condition of loss of brush cover, and the subsequent accumulation of water on the ground preceded by a period of
unusually heavy or sustained rain. A mudslide may occur as a distinct phenomenon while a landslide is in progress.

Organic Matter — (1) Plant and animal residues, or substances made by living organisms. All are based upon carbon
compounds. (2) Any material of organic origin such as peat moss, ground bark, compost, and manure to be dug into the
soil to improve its condition.

Organic Waste — Carbon-containing materials that are discarded into the environment and particularly into bodies of
water. The term is often used as a euphemism for domestic sewage.

Overfishing — The removal of a sufficiently large number of certain fish from a body of water such that breeding stocks
are reduced to levels that will not support the continued presence of the fish in desirable quantities for sport or
commercial harvest.

Polar (Ice) Cap — (1) Either of the regions around the poles of the earth that are permanently covered with ice. (2)
A high-altitude icecap.

Pristine — (Ecology) No trace of human activities; landscape alterations from natural ecological processes only.

Rainfall — (1) A shower or fall of rain. (2) The quantity of water that falls as rain only in a specified area and
time interval. Not strictly synonymous with Precipitation.

Rainfall Rate — The amount of precipitation occurring in a unit of time; generally expressed in inches per hour.

Red Tide — A visible red-to-orange coloration of the sea caused by the presence of a bloom or excessive growth of
dinoflagellates in marine waters, resulting in a red, brown, green or yellow tint in the water. The event causes the death
of marine biota and the accumulation of toxins in mussels or clams. Consumption of the toxin-containing shellfish can
cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning or severe gastric distress in humans.

Reef — A strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral that rises to, or near the surface of a body of water.

Riverbanks — (1) The boundaries which confine the water to its channel throughout the entire width when the stream is
carrying its maximum quantity of water. (2) The portion of the channel cross section that restricts lateral movement of
water at normal discharges. Banks often have a gradient steeper than 45 degrees and exhibit a distinct break in slope
from the stream bed.

Salination — The process whereby soluble salts accumulate in the soil.

Sea Level — (1) The level of the surface of the sea, especially measured at its mean position midway between mean high
and low water.

Sea Mile — A unit of length used in sea and air navigation, based on the length of one minute of arc of a great circle,
especially an international and U.S. unit equal to 1,852 meters (about 6,076 feet). More commonly referred to as
Nautical Mile.

Seashore — Land by the sea.

Sea Wall, also Seawall — An embankment to prevent erosion of a shoreline.

Solid Waste — (Water Quality) Any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant,
or air pollution control facility, and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous
materials resulting from industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community and
institutional activities.

Thundershower — A shower accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Water Cycle — The cycle of evaporation and condensation that controls the distribution of the earth’s water as
it evaporates from bodies of water, condenses, precipitates, and returns to those bodies of water.

Water-Related Recreation Activity — A recreation activity dependent upon on enhanced by water, including
swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing, picnicking, camping, sightseeing, hiking, and nature walks.

Water-Sick — Land rendered unproductive because of excessive irrigation.

Water Witch — A person who predicts the presence of underground water with hand-held tools such as forked
twigs (Divining Rod) or metal rods.

Wet Suit — A tight-fitting permeable suit worn in cold water, as by skin divers, to retain body heat.

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