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W

WADE—To walk in or through water or something else that similarly impedes normal movement.

WADI, also Wady—A ravine or watercourse, dry except in the rainy season and some are permanently dry. Also see Arroyo.

WAFT—(1) To cause to go gently and smoothly through the air or over water. (2) To convey or send floating through the air or over water.

WAKE—The visible track of turbulence left by something moving through water.

WALLOW—A pool of water or mud where animals go to wallow; the depression, pool, or pit produced by wallowing animals.

WARM SPRING—A spring that brings warm water to the surface. A thermal spring. Temperatures typically are 15°F (9.5°C) or more above the mean air temperature.

WARNING STAGE—The Stage (or Gage Height) at which a general state of readiness must be maintained by concerned river interests in the event of further rises above Flood Stage (similar to a Watch). In some cases, initial action must be taken by concerned interests, such as livestock and equipment removal from the lowest overflow areas. This level may produce overbank flows sufficient to cause minor flooding of low-lying areas and local roads.

WASH—(1) To carry, erode, remove, or destroy by the action of moving water. To be carried away, removed, or drawn by the action of water. Removal or erosion of soil by the action of moving water. (2) A deposit of recently eroded debris. (3) Low or marshy ground washed by tidal waters. A stretch of shallow water. (4) (Western United States) The dry bed of a stream, particularly a watercourse associated with an alluvial fan, stream, or river channel. Washes are often associated with arid environments and are characterized by large, high energy discharges with high bed-material load transport. Washes are often intermittent and their beds sparsely vegetated. (5) Turbulence in air or water caused by the motion or action of an oar, propeller, jet, or airfoil.

WASH LOAD—In a stream system, the relatively fine material in near-permanent suspension which is transported entirely through the system without deposition.

WASHOFF—Materials transported from a land or soil surface by overland flow, often used to describe soil materials transported off runoff test plots.

WASHOUT—(1) Erosion of a relatively soft surface, such as a roadbed, by a sudden gush of water, as from a downpour or floods. (2) A channel produced by such erosion.

WASTELOAD ALLOCATION (WLA)—A system designed to limit the total discharge of pollutant materials into a receiving body of water. Each Point Source (PS) of pollutants is allowed to release a specific fraction of the total amount of pollutant materials that can be expected to be assimilated by the stream. Pollution from Non-Point Sources (NPS) comprises the steam's Load Allocation.

WASTE PIPE—A pipe that carries off liquid waste.

WASTE TREATMENT LAGOON—An impoundment made by excavation or earth fill for biological treatment of wastewater. Also see Constructed Wetland and Lagoon.

WASTE TREATMENT PLANT—A facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters and other processes by which pollutants are removed from water. More commonly referred to as Wastewater Treatment Plant.

WASTEWATER—(1) A combination of liquid and water-carried pollutants from homes, businesses, industries, or farms; a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended solids. (2) That water for which, because of quality, quantity, or time of occurrence, disposal is more economical than use at the time and point of its occurrence. Waste water to one user may be a desirable supply to the same or another user at a different location. Also referred to as Domestic Wastewater.

WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE—The plant or network 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 discharges, and the designated use of the receiving water.

WASTEWATER OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE—Actions taken after the construction of a Wastewater Treatment Plant to assure that the facilities will be operated, maintained, and managed to reach prescribed effluent levels in an optimum manner.

WASTEWATER RECLAMATION—The planned reuse of waste water for specific beneficial purposes.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT—Any of the mechanical or chemical processes used to modify the quality of waste water in order to make it more compatible or acceptable to man and his environment.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT—A water effluent treatment facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters and other mechanical, biological, and chemical processes by which pollutants are removed from water. Less frequently referred to as Waste Treatment Plant.

WASTEWAY—(1) Channel for conveying or discharging excess water or wastewater. (2) (Irrigation) Structure used to divert surplus flow from the main canal into a natural or constructed drainage channel.

WASTE UTILIZATION—Using an agricultural or other waste on land in an environmentally acceptable manner while maintaining or improving soil and plant resources.

WATER (H2O)—The liquid that descends from the clouds in rain and which forms streams, lakes, and seas, and is a major constituent of all living matter. Pure water consists of Hydrogen (11.188 percent by weight) and Oxygen (88.812 percent by weight) in the proportion of two atoms of hydrogen to one of oxygen (H2O), and is an odorless, tasteless, transparent liquid which is very slightly compressible. It has a slightly blue color which is observable only in thick layers of the liquid. At its maximum density, 39.2°F (or 4°C), it is the standard for specific gravities, one cubic centimeter weighing one gram. Water's weight per gallon (at 15°C or 59°F) is 8.337 pounds (3.772 kilograms). It is also the standard for specific heats. Its own specific heat is very great. It freezes at 32°F (0°C) and boils at 212°F (100°C) under atmospheric pressure at sea level. Pure water is an extremely poor conductor of electric current, although many Aqueous (water-based) solutions are conductors. Water is the most important of solvents, dissolving many gases, liquids, and solids. Natural waters of the earth, as those of springs, rivers, or the oceans, contain more or less dissolved matter, which is mostly removed by distillation. Rain water is nearly pure. Water is important chemically as a solvent and dissociating agent, as a catalytic agent, and often as one of the substances taking part in a chemical reaction. Ordinary water, described above, is a mixture of molecules containing hydrogen of atomic weight 1, with a small proportion (about 0.015 per cent) of molecules containing hydrogen of atomic weight 2. This later kind of water, termed Heavy Water or Deuterium Oxide, D2O, can be separated by fractional electrolysis or distillation and in other ways and is used as a moderator in certain nuclear reactors.

WATER—(1) To pour or sprinkle on, make wet. (2) To dilute or weaken by adding water. (3) To irrigate land. (4) To take on a supply of water, as a ship. (5) To drink water, as an animal. (6) Any of various forms of water, for example, fresh water, waste water, etc.; often waters, as naturally occurring mineral water, such as those at a spa. (7) A body of water such as a sea, lake, river, or stream; waters, as a particular stretch of sea or ocean, especially t