Glossary
Collection System
A system of collector and/or interceptor sewers collecting wastewater
from a community.
Collector Sewers
See Categories of Needs: Category IVA.
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO)
See Categories of Needs: Category V.
Combined Sewer Systems
Sewer systems designed to convey both domestic sanitary wastewater
and storm water.
Community
In the wastewater treatment sense, a group of residences, businesses,
and/or industries sharing a common treatment and/or conveyance
facility.
Confined Animal Facility (Feedlot)
A facility for the controlled feeding of animals that tends to
concentrate large amounts of animal waste that cannot be absorbed
by the soil and hence may be carried to nearby streams or lakes
by rainfall runoff. Facilities with less than 1,000 AU are generally
considered nonpoint sources. Facilities with more than 1,000 AU
or facilities with water quality problems which discharge directly
to waters of the United States are considered point sources and
are regulated through NPDES permitting.
Conservation Practice Group
A combination of practices identified by the Farm Services Agency
of the USDA to address erosion control and water quality for agricultural
land.
Conveyance Needs
The cost estimate to construct, expand, or upgrade sewer systems
for transporting wastewater to treatment facilities. See Categories
of Needs: Categories IVA and IVB.
Designated Use
The use designated to a stream or body of water which subsequently
dictates the water quality standards necessary to meet that use.
Design Year Needs
The cost estimate for building publicly owned wastewater treatment
facilities eligible for assistance under the CWA to serve the
population expected within 20 years. For the 1996 CWNS, the design
year is 2016.
Drainage Basin
See Watershed.
Estuary Protection
Activities necessary to develop and implement Comprehensive Conservation
and Management Plans (CCMP) for protecting estuaries under the
National Estuary Program. Estuary protection activities focus
on restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of the estuary and controlling nonpoint sources of pollution.
Eutrophication
The process whereby a waterbody becomes rich in organic nutrients,
particularly phosphate and nitrate, that promote the growth of
algae. The rapid growth of algae depletes the waterbody of oxygen
and impedes the survival of other species.
Facilities Plans
Plans and studies that directly relate to the construction of
treatment works necessary to comply with the CWA. A facilities
plan investigates needs and provides information on the cost effectiveness
of alternatives. A recommended plan and an environmental assessment
of the recommendations are also presented in a facilities plan.
A facilities plan includes a description of the treatment works
for which construction drawings and specifications are to be prepared.
The description includes preliminary engineering data, cost estimates
for design and construction of the treatment works, and a schedule
for completion of design and construction.
Fertilizer
Any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin
that is added to soil to supply elements essential to plant growth.
Forest Management Unit (FMU)
A parcel of forest land that is harvested, regenerated, and managed
as a single entity. Its area, shape, and boundaries are determined
by operational considerations, such as forest cover type, forest
age, density of trees, timber merchantability, soil productivity,
and presence of natural boundaries, such as ridge tops, streams,
and roads.
Ground Water Protection
Activities addressed in a State's ground water protection strategy
that must be a part of the nonpoint source management program
under Section 319(i) of the CWA to build State institutional capabilities
to protect ground water resources from nonpoint sources of contamination.
Activities include demonstrations, enforcement, technical assistance,
education, and training. Wellhead protection and underground injection
control for Class V wells, as well as water conservation programs,
may be included.
Headworks
With respect to a treatment facility, the initial component into
which the influent wastewater flows.
Herbicide
A chemical substance designed to kill or inhibit the growth of
plants, especially weeds.
Hydromodification
Alteration of the hydrologic characteristics of coastal and noncoastal
waters, which in turn could cause degradation of water resources.
In the case of a stream channel this is the process whereby a
stream bank is eroded by flowing water. This typically results
in the suspension of sediments in the water course.
Infiltration/Inflow Correction
See Categories of Needs: Category IIIA.
Interceptor Sewers
See Categories of Needs: Category IVB.
Lagoon
With respect to wastewater treatment, a pond in which algae, sunlight,
and oxygen interact to restore wastewater to a quality often equal
to that of the effluent from the secondary treatment stage. Lagoons
are widely used by small communities to provide wastewater treatment.
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
Any pipe, ditch or gully, or system of pipes, ditches, or gullies,
that is owned or operated by a governmental entity and used for
collecting and conveying storm water.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
A provision of the CWA that prohibits discharge of pollutants
into waters of the United States unless a special permit is issued
by EPA, a State, or (where delegated) a Tribal government on an
Indian reservation.
National Resources Inventory (NRI)
A national database for all non-Federal rural lands that provides
information on the status, condition, and trends of soil, water,
and related resources.
Needs
The estimated costs for constructing publicly owned wastewater
conveyance or treatment facilities or funding activities that
are eligible for SRF assistance under the CWA.
Needs for Traditional Eligibilities (Categories I-V)
Documented cost estimates for the seven categories of needs for
publicly owned wastewater conveyance and treatment facilities
(Categories I, II, IIIA, IIIB, IVA, IVB and V). These needs
are limited to the costs eligible for Federal financial assistance
under Title II of the CWA. See also Categories of Needs.
Nonpoint Sources
Pollution sources that are diffuse and do not have a single point
of origin or are not introduced into a receiving stream from a
specific outlet. The pollutants are generally carried off the
land by storm water runoff. Sources of NPS pollution include runoff
from agriculture, silviculture, urban development, mining, construction,
dams and channels, inappropriate land disposal of waste, marinas,
and saltwater intrusion.
Nutrient
An element or compound which is essential for growth and development
of an organism: for example, carbon, nitrogen, or phosphorus.
Pesticide
Any chemical agent used for control of plant or animal pests.
Pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, nematocides,
and rodenticides.
Point Source
A pollution source that has a single point of origin or is introduced
into a receiving stream from a specific outlet. Wastewater treatment
plant outfalls and CSO points of discharge are typically point
sources of pollution.
Primary Treatment
The first stage of wastewater treatment, including removal of
floating debris and solids by screening and sedimentation.
Publicly Owned Treatment Works
A wastewater treatment facility owned by a public entity, such
as a city, a county, or a special sanitary district.
Redocumentation
The process by which documentation dated prior to 1990 supporting
an individual facility's needs in excess of $5 million was updated
and/or revised for the 1996 CWNS.
Replacement/Rehabilitation of Sewers
See Categories of Needs: Category IIIB.
Riparian Vegetation
Vegetation that is present on the banks of a river or stream or
on the shore of a lake.
Sanitary Sewer
A sewer designed to carry only domestic sanitary sewage and no
storm water.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO)
A discharge of raw domestic sewage from a separate sewer system
before the headworks of a wastewater treatment facility.
Secondary Treatment
See Categories of Needs: Category I.
Separate Sewer System/Sanitary Sewer System
A sewer system, designed to exclude storm water, used to convey
domestic sanitary wastewater.
Separate State Estimates (SSEs)
Needs that are not included in the 1996 EPA estimates for the
CWNS because they are justified with documents other than the
established documentation types or they have no written documentation.
Silviculture
Care and cultivation of forest trees (e.g., forestry).
Small Community
A community with less than 10,000 population and total wastewater
flow of less than 1 mgd.
State Revolving Fund (SRF)
A State-managed revolving fund providing loans for specific water
pollution control purposes. Under the SRF program, States and
municipalities are primarily responsible for financing, constructing,
and managing wastewater treatment facilities. The SRF program
is based on the 1987 Amendments to the CWA which replaced the
Construction Grants program with the SRF program.
Storm Sewer
A sewer carrying only runoff from storm events.
Storm Water
Runoff water resulting from precipitation. See Categories of Needs:
Category VI.
Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
A measure of the amount of small, particulate solid pollutants
that are suspended in wastewater.
Treatment Facility
A structure designed to treat wastewater, storm water, or combined
sewer overflows prior to discharging to the environment. Treatment
is accomplished by subjecting the wastewater to a combination
of physical, chemical, and/or biological processes that reduce
the concentration of contaminants.
Urban Runoff
Wet weather runoff from urbanized areas not included in the Phase
I Storm Water Permit program. Includes potential Phase II Storm
Water discharges, hydromodification, runoff from construction
activities, and runoff from marinas.
Wastewater
Dissolved or suspended waterborne waste material. Sanitary or
domestic wastewater refers to liquid material collected from residences,
offices, and institutions. Industrial wastewater refers to wastewater
from manufacturing facilities. Municipal wastewater is a general
term applied to any liquid treated in a municipal treatment facility
and usually includes a mixture of sanitary and pretreated industrial
wastes.
Wastewater Infrastructure
The pipes and appurtenances for the collection, treatment, and
disposal of sewage in a community. The level of treatment will
depend on the size of the community, the type of discharge, and/or
the designated use of the receiving water.
Water Quality Criteria
Specific levels of water quality that, if achieved, are expected
to render a body of water suitable for its designated use. The
criteria are based on specific levels of pollutants that would
make the water harmful if used for drinking, swimming, farming,
fish production, or industrial processes.
Water Quality Standards
State-adopted and EPA-approved ambient standards for waterbodies.
The standards cover the use of the waterbody and the water quality
criteria that must be met to protect the designated use or uses.
Watershed
A geographic area in which water, sediments, and dissolved materials
drain to a common outlet, typically a point on a larger stream,
a lake, an underlying aquifer, an estuary, or an ocean. A watershed
is also sometimes referred to as the "drainage basin" of the receiving
waterbody.
Wetlands Protection
Activities to protect and restore wetlands that are an integral
part of a nonpoint source management program or part of implementation
or development of comprehensive estuary conservation and management
plans.
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