General Glossary

The addition of soils to lakes, a
part of the natural aging process,
making lakes shallower. The
process can be greatly accelerated
by human activities.

Discarded or rejected industrial
waste material often suitable for
recycling.

Common antipollution device that
uses a liquid or slurry spray to
remove acidic gases and particles
from municipal waste combustion
facility flue gas.

Solid material that is in
suspension, is being transported,
or has been moved from its
original location by air, water,
gravity or ice.

The quantity of sediment arriving
at a specific location.

Percolation of water through the
soil from unlined canals, ditches,
laterals, watercourses, or water
storage facilities.

The organic waste and wastewater
that comes from homes, farms and
businesses.

A depression in the landscape
where limestone has been dissolved.

The removal of a fairly uniform
layer of soil material from the
land surface by the action of
rainfall and surface runoff.

The top layer of the earth's
surface, composed primarily of
rock, minerals and decomposed
matter from dead plants or animals.