A
Aquifer
A layer of underground rock or sand that stores and transports water. It is the primary source of our drinking water and water flowing from springs.
B
Best Management Practice (BMP)
Non-regulatory methods designed to minimize harm to the environment.
Basin Management Action Plan
Basin Management Action Plans are FDEPs “blueprint” for protecting impaired waters by reducing pollutant loadings to meet the allowable loadings established in a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The plan defines a set of strategies such as permit limits on wastewater facilities, urban and agricultural best management practices, conservation programs, financial assistance and revenue generating activities, etc. – designed to implement the pollutant reductions established by the TMDL. These broad-based plans are developed with local stakeholders – they rely on local input and local commitment – and they are adopted by Secretarial Order to be enforceable.
Boil
Water turbulance at the top surface of water body indicating the force of a high discharge from a spring vent below.
C
Chara
Chara is a macro algae. They are multicellular and superficially resemble land plants because of stem-like and leaf-like structures.
Chert
An amorphous (no defined crystal structure) form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Utilized by native Americans to make tools and spear points.
Condensation
Moisture produced when warm water vapor mixes with cool air in the atmosphere to produce clouds or fog.
D
Degradation
The negative impact on habitat and ecosystem size or quality resulting from human disturbances or land use changes commonly associated with urban or agricultural development.
Diatoms
Diatoms are a major group of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils around the world.
Dolostone
Sedimentary rock comprised of the mineral dolomite (Calcium-Magnesium Carbonate)
Drip irrigation
An efficient and targeted form of irrigation in which water is delivered in drops directly to the plants roots at specific rates.
E
Ecosystem
A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment.
Endemic
An animal or a plant limited in its distribution to only one or a few places.
Epoch
A division of geologic time less than a period and greater than an age.
Evaporation
The process by which water transforms from a liquid form to a vapor, often through thermal heating by the sun.
F
Florida Platform
Broad, carbonate platform that includes the currently above-water portion of Florida and extends below sea-level to about the 300 foot depth.
Flow Levels
The amount of water flowing from a specific body of water such as a stream or a spring, usually measured in cubic feet per second, or millions of gallons per day.
G
Groundwater
Water stored and transported underground in an aquifer.
H
Habitat fragmentation
The process by which isolated patches of habitat are created through land clearing and deforestation.
Hydric Hammock
A hardwood plant community in Florida.
I
Invasive nonnative species
Species of plants or animals that out-compete others at the detriment of native species and the specific habitat with other ecological and possibly physiological impacts.
Irrigation
The process of applying water to a specific area for agriculture or landscaping.
K
Karst
An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.
Karstification
The process by which acidic water slowly dissolves limestone forming a karst terrain.
L
Land acquisition
The process of purchasing land for conservation to restrict it from development.
Limestone
A highly porous rock formed over thousands of years from the compression of shells and the bones of sea animals.
M
Middle Eocene
A subdivision of the Eocene Epoch that spans the time from 48.6 until 40.4 million years ago. During this time Florida was completely underwater and the carbonate material that would later become the Avon Park Formation was accumulating across Florida.
N
Non-point source pollution
Pollution that does not come from a single point or location.
Nutrient loading
The introduction of excessive amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus from fertilizers into the soil or water.
P
Percolation
The process by which water infiltrates the ground by seeping into the spaces between soil particles, sand, and rocks.
Pleistocene
An epoch in geological time that spans from 2.6 million until 11,700 years ago. Also known as the Ice Age due to the advance and retreat of continental glaciers
Point source pollution
Contamination that can be traced to a single point or location.
Public supply
Water delivered to homes, schools, and businesses by a utility company.
R
Recharge
The process of water seeping into the ground and refilling the aquifer.
Recharge basin
The area within which water seeps into the ground and recharges the groundwater flowing to a specific spring.
Reclaimed water
Water collected and treated after human use.
Retention pond
A manmade pond where stormwater is directed and held.
Reuse
The use of reclaimed water, such as wastewater, for purposes like landscape irrigation.
S
Sheetflow
The movement of water across a surface in a sheet-like mass instead of within channels or streambeds.
Sinkholes
A depression in the land surface caused when rainwater dissolves limestone near the ground surface or as a result of the roof collapse of an underground cave.
Speleogenesis
The process of cave formation, most often through the dissolution of underground bedrock by rainwater or naturally-occurring acids.
Spring-fed river
A specific type of river fed exclusively by the outflow of water from a spring.
Springshed
The total land area that contributes rainfall and runoff to a spring or series of connected springs.
Stormwater runoff
Rainwater that runs off of land and surfaces like roads and parking lots into a larger body of water.
Surface water
Water located on the surface of the earth in water bodies such as lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, wetlands and the ocean.
Swallet
A hole in the land through which a stream delivers surface water to the aquifer (considered the opposite of a spring).
T
Transpiration
The process by which plants give off moisture to the air through the surface of their leaves.
Troglobitic
Refers to animals that are adapted to living in caves.
Turbidity
The degree of cloudiness of a water body caused by suspended solids.
V
Vent
An opening that concentrates ground-water discharge at the Earth’s surface, including the bottom of the ocean. Flow from the opening is mostly turbulent.
W
Wastewater
Water that has been used by humans and is no longer clean.
Water budget
A hydrological formula used by scientists and land managers to determine water surpluses and deficits in a given area.
Water cycle
The continuous cycling of water between the earth and the sky.
Water supply
The total amount of water available for human and other uses.
Watershed
The total land area that contributes runoff to a body of water.
X
Xeriscaping
Landscaping techniques designed to use water efficiently.
*”Florida Waters: A Water Resources Manual from Florida’s Water Management Districts”served as the major source for this glossary. For more information about this manual, contact your local water management district in Florida.