Glossary of Water and Wastewater Terms

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5 random terms from our glossary

confined space, class a

A confined space that presents a situation that is immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH). These include but are not limited to oxygen deficiency, explosive or flammable atmospheres, and concentrations of toxic substances.

auger (AW-grr)

A sharp tool used to go through and break up or remove various materials that become lodged in collection system pipes.

imported backfill

Material used for backfilling a trench or excavation that was not the original material removed during excavation. This is a common practice where tests on the original material show it to have poor compactability or load capacity. Also called borrow backfill.

commodity-demand method

A cost allocation method used by water utilities to determine water rates for the various water user groups. This method considers the commodity costs (water, chemicals, power, amount of water use), demand costs (treatment, storage, distribution), customer costs (meter maintenance and reading, billing, collection, accounting), and fire protection costs.

television inspection

An inspection of the inside of a sewer pipe made by pulling a closed-circuit television camera through the pipe.