Watershed Management Plan - Mason County

Chapter
Glossary 9
9. Glossary
303(d) list – A list of water bodies that do not meet water-quality
standards; the list is periodically assembled by the State for submission to
the federal Environmental Protection Agency to meet the requirements of
Section 303(d) of the 1972 Clean Water Act
Acre-foot – A unit for measuring the volume of water, is equal to the
quantity of water required to cover one acre to a depth of 1 foot and is
equal to 43,560 cubic feet or 325,851 gallons. The term is commonly used
in measuring volumes of water used or stored.
Allocation – The designation of specific amounts of water for specific
beneficial uses.
Anadromous – the behavior exhibited by some fish (such as many
salmonids) that involves spawning and rearing of juveniles in fresh water,
followed by a migration of juveniles to the ocean and eventual return of
adults to their birth location to spawn and die.
Aquifer – layer of underground sand, gravel, or permeable rock that stores
and/or transmits water, such as to wells and springs.
Aquifer recharge – Water added to an aquifer, such as rainfall that seeps
into the ground.
Beneficial use – A use of water resulting in appreciable gain or benefit to
the user, consistent with state law. In Washington, beneficial use is defined
by RCW 90.54.020 as “Uses of water for domestic, stock watering,
industrial, commercial, agricultural, irrigation, hydroelectric power
production, mining, fish and wildlife maintenance and enhancement,
recreational, and thermal power production purposes, and preservation of
environmental and aesthetic values, and all other uses compatible with the
enjoyment of the public waters of the state.”
Bulkheads – Bulkheads are retaining wall-like structures whose primary
purpose is to hold or prevent sliding of soil caused by wave erosion.
cfs – Cubic feet per second. One cfs is equal to a volume of water one foot
high and one foot wide flowing a distance of one foot in one second. One
cfs is equal to 7.48 gallons of water flowing each second.
Conductance – A rapid method of estimating the dissolved solids content
of a water supply by determining the capacity of a water sample to carry an
electrical current.
Consumptive use – a use of water that diminishes the water source at the
point where it was taken.
Final Plan for County Adoption – May 11, 2006 page 61