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PRBWMP Glossary of Terms
Best management
practices (BMP's): Methods, measures, or practices
to prevent or reduce water pollution, including, but not limited
to:
1. Structural and nonstructural controls,
2. Operation and maintenance procedures,
3. Other requirements and scheduling and distribution of
activities.
Usually BMP's are applied as a system
of practices rather than a single practice. BMP's are selected
based on site-specific conditions that reflect natural background
conditions and political, social, economic, and technical
feasibility.
Total Maximum
Daily Load: An estimate of the total quantity of
pollutants (from all sources-point, non-point, and natural)
that may be allowed into waters without exceeding applicable
water quality standards.
Watershed: A geographic area of
land, water, and biota within the confines of a drainage
divide. The total area above a given point of a water body
that contributes flow to that point.
Watershed approach:
A framework to guide watershed management that: (1) uses
watershed assessments to determine existing and reference
conditions; (2) incorporates assessment results into resource
management planning; and (3) fosters collaboration with
all landowners in the watershed. The framework considers
both ground and surface water flow within a hydrologically
defined geographical area.
Watershed assessment:
An analysis and interpretation of the physical and landscape
characteristics of a watershed using scientific principles
to describe watershed conditions as they affect water quality
and aquatic resources. Initial watershed assessments will
be conducted using existing data, where available. Data
gaps may suggest the collection of additional data.
Watershed condition:
The state of the watershed based on physical and biogeochemical
characteristics and processes (e.g., hydrologic, geomorphic,
landscape, topographic, vegetative cover, and aquatic habitat),
water flow characteristics and processes (e.g., volume and
timing), and water quality characteristics and processes
(e.g., chemical, physical, and biological), as it affects
water quality and water resources.
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