Glossary of Water and Wastewater Terms

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5 random terms from our glossary

Starters (Motor)

Devices used to start up large motors gradually to avoid severe mechanical shock to a driven machine and to prevent disturbance to the electrical lines (causing dimming and flickering of lights).

Certification Examination

An examination administered by a state agency or professional association that operators take to indicate a level of professional competence. In the United States, certification of operators of water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, water distribution systems, and small water supply systems is mandatory. In many states, certification of wastewater collection system operators, industrial wastewater treatment plant operators, pretreatment facility inspectors, and small wastewater system operators is voluntary; however, current trends indicate that more states, provinces, and employers will require these operators to be certified in the future. Operator certification is mandatory in the United States for the Chief Operators of water treatment plants, water distribution systems, and wastewater treatment plants.

Undermined

  1. A condition that occurs when the bedding support under a pipe or manhole has been removed or washed away. Conditions leading to or causing this are believed to be the presence of excess water during backfill. Other causes are horizontal boring operations, excavations adjacent to the pipe or manhole, and exfiltration or infiltration at drop joints.
  2. When flow through a broken section of pipe carries away soil around the break leaving a void or empty space, the surfaces over the void are said to be undermined.

SCADA System (SKAY-dah)

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition system. A computer-monitored alarm, response, control, and data acquisition system used to monitor and adjust treatment processes and facilities.

Y, Growth Rate

An experimentally determined constant to estimate the unit growth rate of bacteria while degrading organic wastes.