GLOSSARY
OF TERMS
|
303(d List) - List of
impaired and threatened waters (stream/river segments, lakes) that the Clean
Water Act requires all states to submit for EPA approval every two years. The
states identify all waters where required pollution controls are not
sufficient to attain or maintain applicable water quality standards, and
establish priorities for development of TMDLs based
on the severity of the pollution and the sensitivity of the uses to be made
of the waters, among other factors.
|
Ambient monitoring program -
Monitoring conducted beyond the immediate influence of a discharge pipe;
includes water quality conditions and living resources.
|
Ambient Water
quality standard - Enforceable limits on the concentration of
pollutants designed to protect a designated use of the waterbody. Standards
are promulgated by NY State and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
|
Assimilative
capacity - The capacity of a natural body of water to receive
wastewaters or toxic materials without deleterious effects to its designated
use (e.g., without damage to aquatic life or humans who consume the water).
|
BAP – Biological
Assessment Profile - An index or score of
overall impact to the macroinvertebrate community comprised of seven benthic
macroinvertebrate community metrics used for water quality assessment. The lower the score, the more impacted the
community.
|
Best management
practices (BMPs) - An agricultural practice, forestry practice, construction
practice or method of storm water management that has been determined to be
an effective, practical means of preventing or reducing nonpoint source
pollution.
|
Chlorophyll-a - Plant pigment indicative of algal abundance
|
Combined sewer
overflows (CSOs) - A discharge of untreated
sewage and stormwater to a water body; CSOs occur when the capacity of a
combined storm/sanitary sewer system is exceeded by storm runoff.
|
Ecosystem - An
interrelated and interdependent community of plants and animals, and abiotic
environmental conditions that sustain the living community.
|
Fecal coliform bacteria -
Microscopic single-celled
organisms found in the wastes of warm-blooded animals. Their presence in
water is used to assess the sanitary quality of water for body-contact
recreation or for consumption. Their presence indicates contamination by the
wastes of warm-blooded animals and the possible presence of pathogenic
(disease producing) organisms.
|
Frustules –
Silica-rich external cell walls of diatoms.
|
Guidance value - Best professional judgment of the maximum concentration of
certain pollutants that will protect a designated use.
|
HBI – Hilsenhoff
Biological Index - This index uses species-defined pollution tolerance levels to
assess the overall tolerance level of a community of organisms, and is an
indicator of water quality.
|
Hypolimnion -
Deep, cold waters of a stratified lake; portion of the lake volume that
remains isolated from atmospheric exchange during periods of thermal
stratification
|
Indicator bacteria - Bacteria used to indicate the potential presence of
pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms in water (see also fecal coliform
bacteria).
|
Interrelatedness - Pathways of interaction between species in an ecosystem
|
Littoral - Shallow water zone, where light reaches the sediment surface.
|
Metrics - Quantifiable
physical, chemical and/or biological attributes of an
ecosystem that respond to human disturbances; also, measurable attributes of the ecosystem that indicate whether a
desired state has been achieved. Good metrics are cost-effective to measure,
associated with low uncertainty, relevant to stakeholders and sensitive to
anticipated changes.
|
Pelagic - Associated with the open-water zone (off shore, not associated
with the sediments)
|
Photic zone - Upper layer of the water column where light penetration is
sufficient for photosynthesis
|
Phytoplankton - The community of algae and cyanobacteria present in the water
column.
|
PMA
- Percent Model Affinity - This is a measure of similarity of a sampled
community to a model non-impacted community, using percent abundance of 7
major groups to quantify the community structure. The closer the similarity of the sampled
community structure is to the model non-impacted community structure, the
more likely that the sampled community is non-impacted.
|
Redox (oxidation-reduction potential, ORP) - A measure
(in volts) of the affinity of a substance for electrons. The value is
compared to that for hydrogen, which is set at zero. Substances that are more
strongly oxidizing than hydrogen have positive redox potentials (oxidizing
agents); substances more reducing than hydrogen have negative redox
potentials (reducing agents). In Onondaga Lake’s hypolimnion, ORP declines as organic material is decomposed.
|
Secchi disk -
A round disk, 25 cm in diameter, with alternating quadrants of black and
white. It is lowered into the water on a calibrated line, and the depth at
which it is no longer visible is recorded; thus indicating water clarity.
|
Sonde - Compact
monitoring devices that include one or more sensors or probes to measure
water quality conditions directly, eliminating the need to collect samples
and transport them to a laboratory for analysis.
|
Species diversity - Measure of the abundance and relative frequency of species
|
Stoichiometric - The ratio of required elements needed for a
chemical reaction; in this context, refers to the ratio of N and P required by
cells for metabolism.
|
TMDL- Total Maximum Daily Load -
An allocation of the mass of a pollutant that can be added to a water body
without deleterious effects to its designated use
|
Trophic condition - The status of a water body with regard to its nutrient supply
and consequent productivity.
|
Volume-days of anoxia - A metric that integrates the volume of the lake water affected
by low dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions and the duration of the low DO.
|
Water year - The continuous 12-month
period, October 1 through September 30, in U.S. Geological Survey reports
dealing with the surface-water supply. The water year is designated by the
calendar year in which it ends and which includes 9 of the 12 months. Thus,
the year ending September 30, 2010, is referred to as the “2010 water year.
|
Watershed - The land area contributing surface flow to Onondaga Lake,
through its tributary streams and direct runoff.
|