| A | B |
|---|
| Watershed | Area of land drained by a river |
| Surface Water | Fresh water above the ground |
| Groundwater | Water stored underground |
| Aquifers | Large amounts of groundwater |
| Recharge Zone | Area of land which groundwater originates |
| Desalinization | Process of removing salt from water |
| Water Pollution | The introduction of chemical, physical, or biological material into water that degrades quality of water |
| Point Pollution | Pollution that can be seen and comes from a single source |
| Nonpoint Pollution | Pollution that comes from many different sources |
| Bioaccumulation | Accumulation of larger and larger amounts of a toxin within the tissues of organisms at each successive trophic level |
| Artifical Eutrophication | Eutrophication caused by humans |
| Thermal Pollution | Excessive amounts of heat added to water |
| Dam | A structure built across a river that prevents water from moving |
| Ogallala Aquifer | Holds about 4 quadrillion liters of water, it lies in the states of Wyoming, South Dakoda, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas |
| Distillation | One method of desalinization, when heat is used to evaporate fresh water from salt water, leaving salt behind |
| Reverse Osmosis | Another method of desalinization, when pressure is used to push the water through a semipermeable membrane that will not permit the salts to pass |
| Water Conservation | Ways to save water |
| Industrialization and Human Population Explosion | Two underlying causes of water pollution, both produce waste products that cannot be disposed of as fast as they are produced |
| Pathogens | Disease-causing organisms such as bacteria |
| Organic Matter | Biodegradable remains of animals and plants, they come primarily from nonpoint sources |
| Organic Chemicals | Pesticides, fertilizers, plastics, detergents, gasoline, oil, and other materials made from fossil fuels such as petroleum |
| Inorganic Chemicals | Acids, salts, toxic metals; from both point and nonpoint sources |
| Toxic Chemicals | Chemcials that are poisonous to living things |
| Physical Agents | Heat and suspended solids such as soil |
| Radioactive Waste | From power plants or nuclear processing and defense facilities |
