| A | B |
|---|
| surface water | all the bodies of fresh water, salt water, ice, and snow that are found above the ground |
| river system | a flowing network of rivers and stream draining a river basin |
| watershed | the area of land that is drained by a water system |
| groundwater | the water that is beneath the Earth's surface |
| aquifer | a body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater |
| porosity | the percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces |
| permeability | the ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces or pores |
| recharge zone | an area in which water travels downward to become part of an aquifer |
| potable | suitable for drinking |
| pathogen | a microorganism, another organism, a virus, or a protein that causes disease; an infectious agent |
| dam | a structure that is built across a river to control a river's flow |
| reservoir | an artificial body of water that usually forms behind a dam |
| desalination | a process of removing salt from ocean water |
| water pollution | contamination of water by waste matter or other material that is harmful to organisms that are exposed to the water |
| point-source pollution | pollution that comes from a specific site |
| nonpoint-source pollution | pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single specific site; an example is pollution that reaches a body of water from streets and storm sewers |
| wastewater | water that contains wastes from homes or industry |
| artificial eutrophication | a process that increases the amount of nutrients in a body of water through human activities, such as waste disposal and land drainage |
| thermal pollution | a temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life |
| biomagnification | the accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain |
