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| = F = | | = F = |
| + | === Filter Media === |
| + | The engineered soil bed component of bioretention cell or dry swale designs, |
| + | typically composed of a sandy soil mixture containing a limited proportion of fine textured |
| + | material, which provides a growing medium for vegetation, maintains a high rate of infiltration |
| + | over the lifespan of the practice, and retains contaminants through filtration and adsorption to |
| + | soil particles. |
| + | |
| + | === Filtration === |
| + | The technique of removing pollutants from runoff as it infiltrates through the soil. |
| + | |
| + | === Fines === |
| + | Soil materials with less than a 0.050 mm diameter particle size. |
| + | |
| + | === First Flush === |
| + | Initial pulse of stormwater runoff which picks up the pollutants that have settled on |
| + | surfaces during the dry period. The first flush contains the highest pollutant concentrations. |
| + | |
| + | === Forebay === |
| + | A pretreatment basin at the inlet of a practice that allow settling out of sediment and |
| + | associated contaminants suspended in urban runoff. |
| + | |
| + | === Flow Path Length === |
| + | The minimum linear distance of water flow across a surface. |
| + | |
| + | === Fluvial Geomorphology === |
| + | The study of the processes responsible for the shape and form, or |
| + | morphology, of watercourses; describes the processes whereby sediment (e.g., silt, sand, |
| + | gravel) and water are transported from the headwaters of a watershed to its mouth. |
| + | |
| + | === Fused Grid === |
| + | A hybrid neighbourhood and district layout model that combines the geometries of |
| + | inner city grid road patterns with the loop and cul-de-sac road patterns of conventional suburbs. |
| | | |
| = G = | | = G = |
| + | === Grass Swales === |
| + | Vegetated, open channels designed to convey, treat and attenuate runoff. |
| + | Design variations range from simple grass channels, which are designed primarily for |
| + | conveyance to more complex treatment and volume reduction designs like enhanced grass |
| + | swales, and dry swales or bioswales. |
| + | |
| + | === Geotextile === |
| + | A filter fabric that is installed to separate dissimilar soils and provide runoff filtration |
| + | and contaminant removal benefits while maintaining a suitable rate of flow; may be used to |
| + | prevent fine-textured soil from entering a coarse granular bed, or to prevent coarse granular |
| + | from being compressed into underlying finer-textured soils. |
| + | |
| + | === Granular === |
| + | Gravel, or crushed stone of various size gradations (i.e., diameter), used in |
| + | construction; void forming material used as bedding and runoff storage reservoirs and |
| + | underdrains in stormwater infiltration practices. |
| + | |
| + | === Gravel Diaphragm === |
| + | Is a level spreading device placed at a runoff discharge location, |
| + | perpendicular to flow, to maintain sheet flow and distribute runoff as evenly as possible across a |
| + | pervious area or stormwater infiltration practice. A gravel diaphragm acts as a pretreatment |
| + | device, settling out suspended sediments before they reach the practice. |
| + | |
| + | === Green Roof === |
| + | A thin layer of vegetation and growing medium installed on top of a conventional |
| + | flat or sloped roof, also referred to as living roofs or rooftop gardens. |
| + | |
| + | === Green Infrastructure === |
| + | Natural vegetation and vegetative technologies in urban settings such as: |
| + | urban forests; green roofs; green walls; green spaces; rain gardens; bioswales; community |
| + | gardens; natural and engineered wetlands and stormwater management ponds; and porous |
| + | pavement systems. These systems are designed to provide multiple benefits, such as moderate |
| + | temperatures, clean air and water, and improve aesthetics. |
| + | |
| + | === Groundwater Discharge === |
| + | The outflow of groundwater to a well, spring, wetland or watercourse. |
| + | |
| + | === Groundwater Recharge === |
| + | The inflow of surface water to a groundwater reservoir or aquifer. |
| | | |
| = H = | | = H = |
| + | === Hydraulic Conductivity === |
| + | A parameter that describes the capability of a medium to transmit water. |
| + | |
| + | === Hydrologic Cycle === |
| + | The circulation of water from the atmosphere to the earth and back, through |
| + | precipitation, runoff, infiltration, groundwater flow and evapotranspiration. |
| + | |
| + | === Hydrologic Regime === |
| + | The characteristic pattern of precipitation, runoff, infiltration and evaporation |
| + | affecting the hydrology of a system. |
| + | |
| + | === Hydrologic Soil Groups === |
| + | A soil classification system based on the ability to convey and store |
| + | water; divided into four groups: |
| + | |
| + | A – well drained sands and gravel, high infiltration capacity, high leaching potential and low |
| + | runoff potential; |
| + | |
| + | B – Moderately drained fine to coarse grained soils, moderate infiltration capacity, moderate |
| + | leaching potential and moderate runoff potential; |
| + | |
| + | C – Fine grained, low infiltration capacity, low leaching potential and high runoff potential; |
| + | |
| + | D – Clay soils, very low infiltration capacity, very low leaching potential and very high runoff |
| + | potential. |
| | | |
| = I = | | = I = |
| + | === Impervious === |
| + | A hard surface area (e.g., road, parking area or rooftop) that prevents or retards |
| + | the infiltration of water into the soil. |
| + | |
| + | === Infiltration === |
| + | Penetration of water through the ground surface. |
| + | |
| + | === Inline === |
| + | Refers to a system that accepts all of the flow from a drainage area and conveys larger |
| + | event flows through an overflow outlet. |
| | | |
| = J = | | = J = |
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| = L = | | = L = |
| + | === Landform === |
| + | The natural features of the landscape, dictates flow patterns, runoff velocities and |
| + | discharge rates. |
| + | |
| + | === Landscape-based Approach === |
| + | The principle that development form, servicing and stormwater |
| + | management strategies should be defined by the biophysical, hydrological and ecological |
| + | attributes of the landscape. |
| + | |
| + | === Lot Level === |
| + | The treatment of urban runoff as close to the source area as possible through |
| + | application of small scale stormwater management practices on individual properties that are |
| + | linked to downstream conveyance and end-of-pipe practices. |
| + | |
| + | === Low Impact Development === |
| + | A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the |
| + | impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source |
| + | as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater |
| + | management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and |
| + | evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting. |
| | | |
| = M = | | = M = |
| + | === Master Environmental Servicing Plan (MESP) === |
| + | Is a community-scale planning assessment of |
| + | servicing and environmental considerations for a development project. |
| + | |
| + | === Mulch === |
| + | Shredded woody material or leaf compost used as a top dressing over vegetation beds |
| + | that provides a source of soil nutrients and helps retain soil moisture; in bioretention cells and |
| + | dry swales the surface mulch layer provides pollutant removal and improves growing conditions |
| + | for the selected plants; shredded hardwood bark has been found to work best as it is less likely |
| + | to float. |
| | | |
| = N = | | = N = |
| + | === Native Soil === |
| + | The natural ground material characteristic of or existing by virtue of geographic |
| + | origin. |
| | | |
| = O = | | = O = |
| + | === Offline === |
| + | Refers to a system that when full, stormwater will bypass the practice. Offline systems |
| + | use flow splitters or bypass channels that only allow the water quality volume to enter the |
| + | facility. This may be achieved with a pipe, weir, or curb opening sized for the target flow, but in |
| + | conjunction, create a bypass channel so that higher flows do not pass over the surface of the |
| + | filter bed. |
| | | |
| = P = | | = P = |
| + | === Permeable Pavement === |
| + | Is an alternative practice to traditional impervious pavement, prevents |
| + | the generation of runoff by allowing precipitation falling on the surface to infiltrate through the |
| + | surface course into an underlying stone reservoir and, where suitable conditions exist, into the |
| + | native soil. |
| + | |
| + | === Physiography === |
| + | The physical features of the land, including topography, morphology and |
| + | geologic origin. The physical feature of the land has an influence on the surface water |
| + | movement and the interactions between surface water and groundwater. |
| + | |
| + | === Pollution Hot Spot === |
| + | areas where certain land uses or activities have the potential to generate |
| + | highly contaminated runoff (e.g., vehicle fuelling, service or demolition areas, outdoor storage |
| + | and handling areas for hazardous materials and some heavy industry sites). |
| + | |
| + | === Pollutant Load === |
| + | The total mass of a pollutant entering a waterbody over a defined time period. |
| + | |
| + | === Predevelopment === |
| + | refers to the characteristics and functions of a system prior to urban |
| + | development. |
| + | |
| + | === Pretreatment === |
| + | Initial capturing and removal of unwanted contaminants, such as debris, |
| + | sediment, leaves and pollutants, from stormwater before reaching a best management practice; |
| + | Examples include, settling forebays, vegetated filter strips and gravel diaphragms. |
| | | |
| = Q = | | = Q = |
| | | |
| = R = | | = R = |
| + | === Rain Garden === |
| + | A lot level bioretention cell designed to receive and detain, infiltrate and filter |
| + | runoff, typically used for discharge from roof leaders. |
| + | |
| + | === Rainwater Harvesting === |
| + | Is the practice of intercepting, conveying and storing rainwater for future |
| + | use. The captured rainwater is typically used for outdoor non-potable water uses such as |
| + | irrigation and pressure washing, or in the building to flush toilets or urinals or other uses that do |
| + | not require potable water. |
| + | |
| + | === Recharge === |
| + | The infiltration and movement of surface water into the soil, past the vegetation root |
| + | zone, to the zone of saturation or water table. |
| + | |
| + | === Riparian === |
| + | A vegetated ecosystem alongside a waterbody, characteristically have a high water |
| + | table and are subject to periodic flooding. |
| + | |
| + | === Runoff === |
| + | Water from rain, snow melt, or irrigation that flows over the land surface. |
| | | |
| = S = | | = S = |
| + | === Sedimentation === |
| + | Settling-out or deposition of particulate matter suspended in runoff. |
| + | |
| + | === Soakaway === |
| + | An excavated area lined with geotextile filter cloth and filled with clean granular |
| + | stone or other void forming material, that receives runoff and allow it to infiltrate into the native |
| + | soil; can also be referred to as infiltration galleries, French drains, dry wells or soakaway pits. |
| + | |
| + | === Soil Amendment === |
| + | The practice of adding organic material, such as mulch or compost to topsoil |
| + | to improve fertility, and tilling of the native soils to reverse compaction and restore its water |
| + | retaining capacity. |
| + | |
| + | === Standing Water === |
| + | Water ponded on the ground surface. |
| + | |
| + | === Stone Reservoir === |
| + | An underlying aggregate material bed that temporarily stores stormwater |
| + | before infiltrating into the native soil or being conveyed by an underdrain pipe. |
| + | |
| + | === Stormwater Planer === |
| + | A bioretention cell that features an imperveable liner that collects and |
| + | treats stormwater through sedimentation and filtration only (i.e., no infiltration). |
| + | |
| + | === Stream Channel === |
| + | A natural waterway, formed by fluvial processes, that conveys running water. |
| | | |
| = T = | | = T = |
| + | === Treatment Train Approach === |
| + | A combination of lot level, conveyance, and end-of-pipe stormwater |
| + | management practices. |
| | | |
| = U = | | = U = |
| + | === Underdrain === |
| + | A perforated pipe used to assist the draining of soils. |
| + | |
| + | === Urbanization === |
| + | The changing of land cover and land uses from rural to urban; the growth of |
| + | urban settlements. |
| | | |
| = V = | | = V = |
| + | === Vegetated Filter Strip === |
| + | Are gently sloping, densely vegetated areas that treat runoff as sheet flow |
| + | from adjacent impervious areas. They function by slowing runoff velocity and filtering out |
| + | suspended sediment and associated pollutants, and by providing some infiltration into |
| + | underlying soils. Also known as buffer strips and grassed filter strips. |
| | | |
| = W = | | = W = |
| + | === Water Balance === |
| + | The accounting of inflow and outflow of water in a system according to the |
| + | components of the hydrologic cycle. |
| + | |
| + | === Water Cycle === |
| + | The continuous movement of water from the oceans to the atmosphere (by |
| + | evaporation), from the atmosphere to the land by condensation and precipitation, and from the land |
| + | back to the sea (via groundwater and stream flow); also referred to as hydrologic cycle. |
| + | |
| + | === Water Budget === |
| + | The mathematical expression of the water balance. |
| + | |
| + | === Water Quality Volume === |
| + | The amount of stormwater runoff from a given area required to be |
| + | retained by stormwater management practices to reduce pollutant load to an acceptable level. |
| + | |
| + | === Water Table === |
| + | Subsurface water level which is defined by the level below which all the spaces in |
| + | the soil are filled with water; The entire region below the water table is called the saturated |
| + | zone. |
| + | |
| + | === Watershed === |
| + | An area of land that drains into a river or a lake. The boundary of a watershed is |
| + | based on the elevation (natural contours) of a landscape. |
| | | |
| = X = | | = X = |