Arizona Department of Water Resources

Protecting & enhancing Arizona’s water supplies for current and future generations.

ADWR Dictionary

ADWR Dictionary

ADWR Dictionary

Sort By

All
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Certificate of Assured Water Supply

A permit issued by the director of ADWR for a development, other than a master-planned community, after the director determines that an assured water supply exists for the development pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-576 and Article 7 of the Assured Water Supply Rules

Community Water System

A public water system, as defined in A.R.S. § 49-352(B), that serves at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents of the area served by the system or that regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents of the area served by the system. A person is a year-round resident of the area served by a system if the person's primary residence is served water by that system

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) site

A site included in the federal government’s "Superfund" program that investigates sites that are contaminated with hazardous substances and develops remedial actions that assure the protection of public health and welfare and the environment. The CERCLA program is administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The CERCLA Act of 1980 is authorized by P.L. 96-510; 94 Stat. 2767; 42 United States Code §§ 9601 through 9657

Consumptive use

The part of the water demand that becomes unavailable for future use because it is evaporated or consumed by the use. Consumptive use also refers to diversions from the mainstream of the Colorado River minus the returns

Continuous flow gage

Mechanical device placed in a stream that measures the volume of water flowing at that specific location over an extended period of time

Deficit irrigation

The practice of reducing the number of irrigation applications to lower crop production costs while achieving acceptable yields

Designation of Assured Water Supply

A decision and order issued by the director designating a municipal provider as having an assured water supply pursuant to statute and the Assured Water Supply Rules

Direct use effluent

Effluent that is transported directly from a facility regulated pursuant to water quality control statutes, to an end user.  Effluent that is delivered directly from a wastewater treatment facility is included in this definition, while effluent that is recharged is excluded

Domestic use

Uses related to the supply, service, and activities of households and private residences and includes the application of water to less than two acres of land to produce plants or part of plants for sale or human consumption, or for use as feed for livestock, range livestock or poultry

Domestic well

A small capacity water production well that is typically used to provide water for domestic purposes

Drinking water standards

Criteria developed by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and other state and local agencies, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assure safe water for human consumption. 

Drought

A sustained natural reduction in precipitation that results in negative impacts to the environment and human activity

Dry lake

A basin that formally contained a lake

Earth Fissures

Earth fissures are fractures or cracks that form in alluvial basins due to substantial groundwater overdrafts that produce local subsidence (Holzer, 1976; Jachens and Holzer, 1979; Larson and Péwé, 1986).

Effluent

Water that has been collected in a sanitary sewer for subsequent treatment in a facility that is regulated as a sewage system, disposal plant or wastewater treatment facility. Such water remains effluent until it acquires the characteristics of groundwater or surface water.

Effluent dependent water

Surface waters that would generally be ephemeral, except for the discharge of treated effluent. 

Environmental well

A well normally associated with a contamination site investigation or remedial action. Environmental wells include air sparging wells, biosparging wells, vapor extraction wells, free product recovery wells, vadose zone wells and wells involving other types of remediation. Environmental wells are permanent installations, as opposed to geotechnical or exploration boreholes that are drilled to obtain samples or information, and then immediately abandoned

Ephemeral stream

A stream or part of a stream that flows only in direct response to precipitation; it receives little or no water from springs, melting snow or other sources; its channel is at all times above the water table

Evaporation pan

An open tank used to measure the amount of evaporation. The U.S. Department of Commerce Weather Station Class A pan is 4 feet in diameter and 10 inches deep, set so the top rim is 16 inches above ground

Evapotranspiration

Loss of water from the land through transpiration of plants and evaporation from the soil and surface water bodies.