Here's a list of water related terms that might help you understand your well water better. There is also a detailed water glossary kept by the Water Quality Association, and an extremely detailed water dictionary is offered by the Nevada Division of Water Resources.
A acequia--acequias are gravity-driven waterways, similar in concept to a flume. Most are simple ditches with dirt banks, but they can be lined with concrete. They were important forms of irrigation in the development of agriculture in the American Southwest. The proliferation of cotton, pecans and green chile as major agricultual staples owe their progress to the acequia system.
artificial recharge--an process where water is put back into ground-water storage from surface-water supplies such as irrigation, or induced infiltration from streams or wells.
B base flow--sustained flow of a stream in the absence of direct runoff. It includes natural and human-induced streamflows. Natural base flow is sustained largely by ground-water discharges.
C capillary action--the means by which liquid moves through the porous spaces in a solid, such as soil, plant roots, and the capillary blood vessels in our bodies due to the forces of adhesion, cohesion, and surface tension. Capillary action is essential in carrying substances and nutrients from one place to another in plants and animals.
D desalination--the removal of salts from saline water to provide freshwater. This method is becoming a more popular way of providing freshwater to populations.
E effluent--water that flows from a sewage treatment plant after it has been treated.
filters / filtering--a filter is a device used to catch and retain impurities such as suspended solids found in water. Whole House, sand, screen, spindown and reverse osmosis filters are very common on well water systems.
G gage height--the height of the water surface above the gage datum (zero point). Gage height is often used interchangeably with the more general term, stage, although gage height is more appropriate when used with a gage reading.
H hardness--a water-quality indication of the concentration of alkaline salts in water, mainly calcium and magnesium. If the water you use is "hard" then more soap, detergent or shampoo is necessary to raise a lather.
I impermeable layer--a layer of solid material, such as rock or clay, which does not allow water to pass through.
L leaching--the process by which soluble materials in the soil, such as salts, nutrients, pesticide chemicals or contaminants, are washed into a lower layer of soil or are dissolved and carried away by water.
M maximum contaminant level (MCL)--the designation given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to water-quality standards promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The MCL is the greatest amount of a contaminant that can be present in drinking water without causing a risk to human health.
N nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU)--unit of measure for the turbidity of water. Essentially, a measure of the cloudiness of water as measured by a nephelometer. Turbidity is based on the amount of light that is reflected off particles in the water.
NGVD--National Geodetic Vertical Datum. (1) As corrrected in 1929, a vertical control measure used as a reference for establishing varying elevations. (2) Elevation datum plane previously used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the determination of flood elevations. FEMA current uses the North American Vertical Datum Plane.
O organic matter--plant and animal residues, or substances made by living organisms. All are based upon carbon compounds.
osmosis - Reverse Osmosis--the movement of water molecules through a thin membrane. The osmosis process occurs in our bodies and is also one method of desalinating saline water.
P pH--a measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of water. Water with a pH of 7 is neutral; lower pH levels indicate increasing acidity, while pH levels higher than 7 indicate increasingly basic solutions.
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)--a group of synthetic, toxic industrial chemical compounds once used in making paint and electrical transformers, which are chemically inert and not biodegradable. PCBs were frequently found in industrial wastes, and subsequently found their way into surface and ground waters. As a result of their persistence, they tend to accumulate in the environment. In terms of streams and rivers, PCBs are drawn to sediment, to which they attach and can remain virtually indefinitely. Although virtually banned in 1979 with the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act, they continue to appear in the flesh of fish and other animals.
R rating curve--A drawn curve showing the relation between gage height and discharge of a stream at a given gaging station.
runoff--(1) That part of the precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation water that appears in uncontrolled surface streams, rivers, drains or sewers. Runoff may be classified according to speed of appearance after rainfall or melting snow as direct runoff or base runoff, and according to source as surface runoff, storm interflow, or ground-water runoff. (2) The total discharge described in (1), above, during a specified period of time. (3) Also defined as the depth to which a drainage area would be covered if all of the runoff for a given period of time were uniformly distributed over it.
S saline water--water that contains significant amounts of dissolved solids.
septic tanks--a tank used to detain domestic wastes to allow the settling of solids prior to distribution to a leach field for soil absorption. Septic tanks are used when a sewer line is not available to carry them to a treatment plant. A settling tank in which settled sludge is in immediate contact with sewage flowing through the tank, and wherein solids are decomposed by anaerobic bacterial action.
T tertiary wastewater treatment--selected biological, physical, and chemical separation processes to remove organic and inorganic substances that resist conventional treatment practices; the additional treatment of effluent beyond that of primary and secondary treatment methods to obtain a very high quality of effluent. The complete wastewater treatment process typically involves a three-phase process: (1) First, in the primary wastewater treatment process, which incorporates physical aspects, untreated water is passed through a series of screens to remove solid wastes; (2) Second, in the secondary wastewater treatment process, typically involving biological and chemical processes, screened wastewater is then passed a series of holding and aeration tanks and ponds; and (3) Third, the tertiary wastewater treatment process consists of flocculation basins, clarifiers, filters, and chlorine basins or ozone or ultraviolet radiation processes.
U unsaturated zone--the zone immediately below the land surface where the pores contain both water and air, but are not totally saturated with water. These zones differ from an aquifer, where the pores are saturated with water.
W wastewater--water that has been used in homes, industries, and businesses that is not for reuse unless it is treated.
X xeriscaping--a method of landscaping that uses plants that are well adapted to the local area and are drought-resistant. Xeriscaping is becoming more popular as a way of saving water at home.