Terms and definitions
Aesthetic parameter - The measure of a water quality characteristic associated with acceptable water to the consumer, eg appearance, taste and odour.
Bacteria - A unicellular micro-organism.
CD4 Lymphocytes - A specific type of lymphocyte (white blood cell) derived from the thymus gland that plays an important role in cellular immunity.
Coagulation - The chemical bringing together of fine particles of sediment in water.
Contaminated sites - The presence of man-made chemicals or other alterations in the natural soil environment.
Cysts - A cyst is a sac that encloses an organism during a dormant period, such as in the case of certain parasites.
Disinfection - The inactivation of microbiological organisms by using a strong oxidant, eg chlorine.
Ecology - Scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions among organisms, and between organisms and their environment.
Effluent - After sewage is treated, liquid and solids are left. The liquid is called effluent.
Enteric - Of, relating to, or inside, the intestines.
Environmental indicators - Factors used to communicate information about the environment.
Flocculation - The physical bringing together of small particles of sediment in water.
Genotyping - The process of determining the genetic constitution of an individual.
Hydrology - The study of the movement, distribution and quality of water.
Immunosuppression - An act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system.
Oocysts - A thick walled structure in which sporozoan zygotes develop. It serves to transfer them to new hosts.
Protozoa - Unicellular microbes that commonly show characteristics associated with animals.
Rectification actions - The process or correcting or amending.
Riparian - A riparian zone is the interface between the land and a flowing surface body of water. A riparian zone is an important natural biofilter.
Rehabilitating mines - To improve the ecological integrity of both derelict and working mines in the catchment.
Screening - Rotating or static screens which capture large particles, eg leaves and fish.
Sediment - A geological term for loose pieces of minerals and rock.
Sewage - All used water from inside houses, office buildings, shopping centres, flats and schools.
Thermal stratification - Thermal stratification refers to the layering that occurs in a body of water (lake), particularly in the warm months when a warmer, less dense layer (the epilimnion) overlies a colder denser layer (the hypolimnion).
Trihalomethanes (THMs) - These are formed when natural organic material, such as the decaying vegetation commonly found in lakes and reservoirs, reacts with chlorine used to treat water. This reaction produces 'disinfection byproducts', the most common of which are THMs.
Turbidity - The cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles (suspended solids) that are generally invisible to the naked eye.
Virus - A submicroscopic infectious agent unable to grow or reproduce outside a host cell.
Viability - Capacity for survival.
