Water — page 28 of 31

3,083 terms

Water terms

  1. Strategic plan A written plan outlining a government agency's framework for management.
  2. Stratification Layering of a lake, by temperature, during warmer seasons.
  3. Stratified reservoir A reservoir with several thermal layers of water.
  4. Stratigraphy Geology that deals with the origin, composition, distribution, and succession of strata. Study or description of layered or stratified rocks.
  5. stream A body of running water.
  6. Stream capacity Total volume of water that a stream can carry within the normal high water channel.
  7. Stream Gage A site along a stream where the stage (water level) is read either by eye or measured with recording equipment.
  8. Stream line An imaginary line within the flow which is everywhere tangent to the velocity vector.
  9. Stream Segment Refers to the surface waters of an approved planning area exhibiting common hydrological, natural, physical, biological, or chemical processes.
  10. Streambed at the dam axis The lowest-point elevation in the streambed at the axis or centerline crest of the dam prior to construction.
  11. Streamflow Discharge that occurs in a natural channel.
  12. Stress The response of the body to physical, mental, or emotional pressure. This may make a person feel frustrated, angry, or anxious, and may cause unhealthy…
  13. Striation Scratch or groove in bedrock caused by rocks within a glacier grinding the earth's surface as the glacier moves.
  14. Strike Strike means a labor dispute wherein employees engage in a concerted stoppage of work (including stoppage by reason of the expiration of a collective…
  15. Strip cropping A crop production system that involves planting alternating strips of row crops and close-growing forage crops; the forage strips intercept and slow…
  16. Stripping Removal of a surface layer or deposit for the purpose of excavating other material beneath it.
  17. Structural Height Distance between the lowest point in the excavated foundation (excluding narrow fault zones) and the top of dam.
  18. Strut An inside brace.
  19. Stud A popular term used for a length of wood or steel used in or for wall framing.
  20. Sub-organization Any organization such as agencies, departments, offices, or local jurisdictions having a supportive role in emergency planning and preparedness.
  21. Subbase A layer used in a pavement system between the subgrade and base course, or between the subgrade and portland cement concrete pavement.
  22. Subcritical flow Those conditions of flow for which the depths are greater than critical and the velocities are less than critical.
  23. Subdrilling Overdrilling or drilling below final grade. Sometimes necessary to assure that final grade is obtained when blasting.
  24. Subgrade Soil prepared and compacted to support a structure or pavement system.
  25. Subgrade surface The surface of the earth or rock prepared to support a structure or a pavement system.
  26. Subirrigation Applying irrigation water below the ground surface either by raising the water table within or near the root zone, or by use of a buried perforated or…
  27. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) Aquatic vegetation, such as sea grasses, that cannot withstand excessive drying and therefore live with their leaves at or below the water surface.
  28. Subsidence Sinking or settlement of the land surface, due to any of several processes. As commonly used, the term relates to the vertical downward movement of…
  29. Substation An electrical installation containing power conversion (and sometimes generation) equipment, such as transformers, compensators, and circuit breakers.
  30. Substation capacity The substation capacities are given in kVA (kilovolt-amperes). To determine the load in kilowatts, which could be served from the transformers, the…
  31. Substrate 1. A compound that is altered by an enzyme. 2. Food source for growing cells or micro-organisms. 3. Material on which a sedentary organism lives and grows.
  32. Subsurface irrigation system Irrigation by means of underground porous tile or its equivalent.
  33. Subsurface Storm Flow The lateral motion of water through the upper layers until it enters a stream channel. This usually takes longer to reach stream channels than runoff.
  34. Subtidal A marine or estuarine environment that lies below mean low water; always (or almost always) submerged in a tidally-influenced area.
  35. Succession A series of dynamic changes by which one group of organisms succeeds another through stages leading to potential natural community or climax.
  36. Sulfate attack Damage to concrete caused by the effects of a chemical reaction between sulfates in soils or ground water and hydrated lime and hydrated calcium aluminate…
  37. Sump A pit or pool for draining, collecting, or storing water. A chamber located at the entrance to the pump which provides water to the pump.
  38. Sump pump A pump used for removing collected water from a sump.
  39. Supercritical flow Those conditions of flow for which the depths are less than critical and the velocities are greater than critical.
  40. Supervisory control A system used to monitor conditions and operate mechanical features associated with a facility from a location other than at the site.
  41. Supplemental irrigation service land Irrigable land now receiving, or to receive, an additional or reregulated supply of water through facilities constructed by or to be constructed by the…
  42. Suppressed weir A rectangular weir that has only the crest far removed from the channel bottom, the sides are coincident with the sides of the approach channel, so no…
  43. Surcharge An extra charge applied to the premium by an insurance company, usually applied as a result of at-fault accidents or moving violations.
  44. Surcharge Capacity The volume of a reservoir between the maximum water surface elevation for which the dam is designed and the crest of an uncontrolled spillway, or the…
  45. Surcharge capacity (surcharge storage) The reservoir capacity provided for use in passing the inflow design flood through the reservoir.
  46. Surface Impoundment An indented area in the land's surface, such as a pit, pond, or lagoon.
  47. Surface pump A mechanism for removing water or wastewater from a sump or wet well.
  48. Surface Runoff Precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation in excess of what can infiltrate the soil surface and be stored.
  49. Surface soil Upper part of the soil ordinarily moved in tillage, or its equivalent in uncultivated soils, about 10 to 20 cm in thickness.
  50. Surface vibration A method of compacting soil using a vibrating plate or vibrating smooth drum roller used on the surface of soil placed.
  51. Surface Water Water on the Earth's surface that is directly exposed to the atmosphere, as distinguished from water in the ground (groundwater).
  52. Surge A rapid increase in the depth of flow.
  53. Surge chamber A chamber or tank connected to a pipe and located at or near a valve that may quickly open or close or a pump that may suddenly start or stop.
  54. Surge irrigation A surface irrigation technique wherein flow is applied to furrows (or less commonly, borders) intermittently during a single irrigation set.
  55. Suspended The state of floating in water rather than being dissolved in it.
  56. Suspended load (suspended sediment) Sediment that is supported by the upward components of turbulence in a stream and that stays in suspension for an appreciable length of time.
  57. Suspension The temporary disqualification of a firm or individual from contracting with the government or participating in government programs, pending the outcome…
  58. Sustainable Production The renewable living resources and their habitats, including, but not limited to, spawning, mating, and nursery grounds, and areas established to minimize…
  59. Sustained Overdraft Long-term withdrawal from the aquifer of more water than is being recharged.
  60. Swale A low place in a tract of land, usually moister, and often having denser vegetation than the adjacent higher land.
  61. Swell Increase of bulk in soil or rock when excavated.
  62. Swell pressure The pressure required to maintain zero expansion.
  63. Switching station Facility equipment used to tie together two or more electric circuits through switches.
  64. Synchronous condensers A synchronous machine running without mechanical load and supplying or absorbing reactive power.
  65. Syncline A fold in rocks in which the strata dip inward from both sides toward the axis. Troughlike downward sag or fold in rock layers. Opposite of an anticline.
  66. Synthetic earthquake Earthquake time history records developed from mathematical models that use white noise, filtered white noise, and stationary and nonstationary filtered…
  67. System Physically connected generation, transmission, and distribution facilities operated as an integrated unit under one central management, or operating…
  68. Tagout The placement of a tagout device on an energy isolating device, in accordance with an established procedure, to indicate that the energy isolating device…
  69. Tagout device A prominent warning device, such as a tag and a means of attachment, which can be securely fastened to an energy isolating device in accordance with an…
  70. Tailings Second grade or waste material separated from pay material during screening or processing.
  71. Tailings dam. See mine tailings dam.
  72. Tailrace. See afterbay.
  73. Tailwater The water in the natural stream immediately downstream from a dam. The elevation of water varies with discharge from the reservoir.
  74. Tailwater Height Height of water immediately downstream of the dam. (Various datums may be used.)
  75. Tainter gate A term used by the Corps of Engineers to describe radial gates (see gate).
  76. Talus Rock debris accumulated at the base of the cliff or slope from which they have broken off.
  77. Tamp To pound or press soil to compact. To firmly compact earth during backfilling.
  78. Tamper A tool for compacting soil in spots not accessible to rollers.
  79. Tamping A method of compacting soil using the impact of a power or hand tamper on the surface of the soil placed.
  80. Tamping roller One or more steel drums, fitted with projection feet, used to densify soil. See sheepsfoot roller.
  81. Tandem A pair in which one part follows the other.
  82. Tangent A line that touches a circle and is perpendicular to its radius at the point of contact.
  83. Taproot A big root that grows downward from the base of a tree.
  84. Tectonics The science that deals with the structure of the earth's crust.
  85. Tee A pipe fitting that has two threaded openings in line, and a third at right angles to them.
  86. Telescope To slide one piece inside another.
  87. Temporary irrigation service land Irrigable land for which a water supply is delivered under temporary arrangements. The acreage may vary from year to year.
  88. Temporary structure Any structure that can be readily and completely dismantled and removed from the site between periods of actual use.
  89. Tensiometer Instrument, consisting of a porous cup filled with water and connected to a manometer or vacuum gauge, used for measuring the soilwater matrix potential.
  90. Terminal structure Portion of spillway downstream from chute, tunnel or conduit, which generally dissipates or stills releases.
  91. Terrace A step-like surface, bordering a valley floor or shoreline, that represents the former position of a floodplain, lake, or sea shore.
  92. Terrain Topographic layout and features of a tract of land or ground.
  93. Terrestrial Things of the land.
  94. Territorial communities Populations that function within a particular geographic area.
  95. Test pit Pit dug for geologic investigation or inspection and testing of earthwork placement.
  96. Thalweg Deepest part of a river channel in a cross section of a river profile. The path of deepest flow. Line connecting the deepest points along a riverbed.
  97. Theodolite An instrument used in surveying to measure horizontal and vertical angles with a small telescope that can move in the horizontal and vertical planes.
  98. Theory most logical explanation of an event that occurs in nature.
  99. Thermal sand Sand used to dissipate heat away from buried electrical cables.
  100. Thermal stratification The formation of layers of different temperatures in bodies of water. See stratification.

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