Accelerated Erosion: Erosion that occurs more rapidly than natural geological erosion, usually caused by the removal of natural vegetation and/or displacement of soil for the purpose of farming, forestry, and land grading for construction.

Aerobic: Requiring oxygen.

Algae: A single celled photosynthetic, mainly aquatic organism. Nutrient-rich aquatic systems can produce excessive amounts of algae. Algae are often short-lived organisms that are quickly consumed by bacteria resulting in loss of oxygen to the aquatic environment from decomposition.

Anaerobic: An environment lacking in oxygen or organism which does not require oxygen to live. Some types of bacteria are capable of living without oxygen. These bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide through the course of respiration and are known as anaerobic bacteria.

Aquifer: An underground geological structure that contains usable amounts of groundwater for wells and springs.

Basin: The entire drainage area of a river system. The French Broad is one of the 17 major river basins in North Carolina. From "French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan"; May 2000; NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Benthos (benthic): A term for bottom-dwelling aquatic organisms. From “French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan”; May 2000; NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Bioaccumulation: The accumulation of a chemical compound(s) in the tissues of an organism, which has no natural metabolic pathway for eliminating it.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand: A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by the decomposition of biological matter or by chemical reactions in the water column. Most NPDES discharge permits include a limit on the amount of BOD that may be discharged. From “French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan”; May 2000; NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Biota: The animals and plants found within a particular region.

BMPs: Best Management Practices; suggested practices or measures pertaining to construction, logging, and agriculture that instruct how to engage in these activities and protect environmental quality

Buffer Zone: A natural area, such as forest or grassland, between a body of water and a land disturbing activity that allows filtration of surface runoff. Buffer zones may serve other uses, depending on their vegetation composition, such as habitat, shade for aquatic species, and stabilization of the stream bank.

Carcinogenic: Any substance capable of causing cancer.

Class C: Class C Water Quality Classification. This classification denotes freshwaters protected for secondary recreation, fishing, wildlife, fish and aquatic life propagation and survival, and other uses. From “French Broad River Basinwide Water Quality Plan”; May 2000; NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Clean Water Act: A federal water quality control law responsible for overseeing surface waters, establishing water quality parameters, waste discharge standards and a form permit process.

Coliform: Bacteria of the coliform group originating from the intestines of warm-blooded animals. High coliform counts may signify contamination by human or livestock waste and high levels indicate a health hazard.

Conductivity: A measure of the ability of water to conduct an electrical current. Pure water will not conduct an electrical current. Water containing inorganic dissolved solids and salts will form positively and negatively charged ions that will conduct a current. The concentration of dissolved ions determines the conductivity of a water sample.

Cubic feet per second (cfs): The flow rate of water past an established point over time at the equivalent of 449 gal/min or 1.98 acre-ft/day.

Dams: Structures that change the flow of water in streams by restraining it, slowing it, or changing its original pathway; can be natural or man made.

Dissolved Oxygen: The amount of oxygen dissolved in a specific volume of water. Sufficient amounts of dissolved oxygen are important to the survival of fish and other aquatic organisms. Several factors that affect the amount of dissolved oxygen available are turbidity, temperature, and flow. The turbidity caused by sediment in the water restricts sunlight to aquatic plants thereby reducing the dissolved oxygen in the water. Oxygen dissolves easier in cold water, so lower temperature streams have higher levels of dissolved oxygen. Fast flowing areas with whitewater allow more oxygen in at the surface than stagnant areas.

Ecosystem: A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms within an environment.

Effluent: A substance that flows out, as an overflowing stream or lake; or waste material discharged into the environment

Erosion: Detachment and movement of soil or rock by water, wind, ice, or gravity.

Estuary: A body of water where a freshwater river or stream empties and mixes with salt water, producing a range of salinities. Estuaries are important breeding grounds for many types of fish; however, many are damaged by the accumulation of sediments due to accelerated erosion.

Fecal coliform: A type of coliform bacteria found in the intestines of mammals. Occurrence suggests contamination by human and/or animal wastes and indicates a health hazard.

Federal Land Ownership: Land in North Carolina that is owned and managed by the US Government.

Geological Erosion: Wearing away of the earth's surface by water, ice, or other natural agents under environmental conditions of climate, vegetation, and topography undisturbed by humans.

Groundwater: Water found beneath the Earth’s surface.

Hardness: The quality in water that is imparted by dissolved salts, such as calcium sulfate or bicarbonate.

Hazardous waste: Toxic materials which result from industrial processes. Includes four characteristics: ingnitability, corrosiveness, reactivity, or toxicity.

Herbicide: A substance that is capable of stunting or killing plants.

Hydrocarbon: An organic compound made up of hydrogen and carbon; natural gas, coal, and petroleum are examples of natural hydrocarbons.

Insecticide: A particular substance used to kill insects, either by direct contact or ingestion.

Lead: Symbol Pb A soft, malleable, ductile, bluish-white, dense metallic element, extracted chiefly from galena and used in containers and pipes for corrosives, solder and type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints, and antiknock compounds. Dangerous if ingested, lead poisoning is the most common environmental disease affecting young children. Mainly affecting the nervous system, lead poisoning can result in lower IQ, reduced attention span, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems. Most common sources of poisoning from ingestion are drinking water where lead solder has been used to connect pipes and lead-based paint.

Liter (l): A unit of liquid capacity equal to the volume of 1,000 cubic centimeters or 0.26 gallons.

Mercury: Symbol Hg A silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temperature and used in thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pesticides. Mercury forms alloys, called amalgams, with many metals, and is thus used in applying tin foil to the backs of mirrors, and in extracting gold and silver from their ores. It is poisonous, and is used in medicine, and in its compounds as calomel, corrosive sublimate, etc. From Dictionary.com.

The most common sources of mercury as a pollutant are coal-fired power plants and combustion of waste. Mercury is disbursed in the air and, when it settles in or is carried into water bodies bacteria and chemical reactions can convert it into the highly toxic form, methylmercury. It is absorbed by plants and bioaccumulates in fish, particularly those higher on the food chain. Eating fish contaminated with mercury is the most common route of exposure for humans. Mercury is toxic to the nervous system and can affect speech, hearing, coordination, and childhood development and can even result in death.

Meter (m): A standard metric unit of length and distance, the equivalent of about 3.3 feet or 1.1 yards.

Milligram (mg): A metric unit of weight, which equals one thousandth of a gram.

Milligrams per liter (mg/l): Concentration unit of milligrams per liter; same as parts per million.

Million gallons per day: Measure of the flow of water equal to approximately 1.5 cubic feet per second or 3.78 million liters a day.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES): A provision of the Clean Water Act, which prohibits discharge of pollutants into waters of the U.S. unless a permit is issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, or state, or tribal government.

Nitrate: An ion containing both nitrogen and oxygen; Nitrates are essential plant nutrients, but in excess can contribute to extensive aquatic plant growth in surface water. It can also be toxic to warm-blooded animals at concentrations greater than 10mg/L. The main sources of nitrate to water bodies are fertilizer and animal waste runoff, wastewater treatment plants, failing septic systems, and industrial discharge.

Non-point source: Pollution sources that do not have a single point of origin or are not introduced into a body of water from a specific outlet. Pollution that is washed into rivers, lakes, and streams from runoff during rainfall events. Sediment is the largest non-point source pollutant.

Nutrient: Any substance assimilated by living things which promotes growth. Two of the most common are nitrogen and phosphorus.

Organic: A compound that contains one or more atoms of the element carbon. Generally means derived from something living.

Parts per billion (ppb): Number of units per a billion units.

Parts per million (ppm): Number of units per a million units.

Pathogen: An organism or agent that causes disease.

Pesticide: A chemical substance used to control pests. Includes insecticides, herbicides, and algaecides.

pH: A measure of the amount of hydrogen ions in a solution. Values range from 0 to 14 with those at 7 considered neutral, those below 7 considered acidic, and those above 7 considered basic or alkaline.

Point Source Pollution: Water pollution that is introduced into rivers, lakes, or streams directly from a single source, such as a pipe.

Pollution: Any physical, chemical, or biological change that adversely affects the health, survival, or activities of living organisms or alters the environment in undesirable ways.

Raw sewage: Sewage that is not treated.

Riparian: Relating to or living on the bank of a natural watercourse such as a river.

Salinity: The concentration of salt in water. Salinity is measured by the weight of sodium chloride per unit of water and expressed as parts per thousand (ppt) or grams a liter. Sea water salinity is usually between 33 and 35 ppt.

Sediment: Solid particulate matter, mineral or organic, that has been or is being moved by water, air, gravity, or ice from its origin. Sediment typically consists of clay, silt or sand-sized particles.

Sedimentation: The process by which soils that have been washed into rivers, lakes, and streams, or onto the land surface are deposited.

Surface Water Intakes: Locations where communities draw water from a lake, river, or stream; treat it; and distribute treated water to residences and businesses for drinking and other uses.

Suspended solids: Small particles of solid pollutants that float on the surface of, or are suspended in any form of liquid and will not pass through a filter.

Topsoil: The upper layer of soil. This layer holds most of a soil's nutrients and is the most productive layer of soil. Topsoil is the layer of soil that is usually lost due to accelerated erosion.

Total Dissolved Solids: A measure of the residue in water that includes all substances that will pass through a filter, but are left in a vessel when all the water has evaporated.

Toxic: Harmful to living organisms.

Turbidity: A measure of water clarity that is affected by the presence of suspended particulate matter.

Vegetation: The plants that cover the land surface. Vegetation helps protect soil from erosion by preventing direct effect of rainfall on soil and holding onto soil with its roots.

Wastewater: The spent or used water from a farm, industry, private homes and communities as a whole that contains dissolved or suspended matter.

Watershed: The land area that drains into a stream, river, or lake. A large river may have a watershed that encompasses many smaller watersheds.

Wetlands: Land that is regularly saturated by surface or groundwater and is characterized by the vast amount of vegetation that is adapted for life in saturated conditions. These include marshes, bogs, swamps and estuaries. Wetlands are often regarded as the kidneys of an ecosystem due to their ability to filter out impurities from the water.