NOTICE: PhillyWatersheds.org has been archived.

The archive will be available at http://archive.phillywatersheds.org for approximately one year (through September 2020). If you use or are responsible for content here that is not yet available elsewhere, please contact the PWD Digital Team.

Glossary beginning with E

terms for which definitions are available

a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | i | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | v | w
Click one of the letters above to be taken to a page of all terms beginning with that letter.
E. coli

Escherichia coli; a common rod-shaped bacterium that is found in the intestinal tract of warm blooded animals; used as an indicator of contamination by feces/sewage

ecosystem

a collection of living things and their environment

effluent

outflow of liquid waste, such as discharge from a sewer treatment plant

encapsulated

enclosed or covered, such a stream that has been built into a sewer

encroachment

a structure or activity that changes, expands, or diminishes the course, current, or cross-section of a watercourse, floodway, or body of water

EPA

United States Environmental Protection Agency

erosion

the process by which soil particles are removed or displaced, usually by wind or water

estuary

a body of water intermediate between an ocean and river, usually tidal and highly productive