Center pivot irrigation: one way that farmers water their crops, water is sprayed over an entire field of crops in a circle pattern
Conserve: Protecting natural resources and using them wisely.
Crops: a plant that is grown for food (examples: corn, lettuce, apples, wheat)
Disinfection: cleaning germs that can make us sick
Drinking Water: the water that you drink that helps you stay alive
Ecosystem: A community of different living things, including plants and animals, that interact with each other and the area where they live.
Elevation: How high something is above sea level. For example, if you are hiking and go from a valley to the top of a mountain, your elevation gets higher as you go up the mountain. That is called an increase in elevation.
Evaporation: The process of water changing from a liquid to a gas (steam).
Finite: Something that is limited to a certain amount.
Filter: a device that takes dirt and other harmful things out of liquids or gases
Fresh Water: Naturally occurring water that humans can easily use for drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Groundwater: Water that is underground and cannot be seen from the surface. People can reach groundwater by using a well that has a pump to bring the water to the surface. Groundwater is different from water in lakes, rivers, streams, or oceans, which is often called surface water.
Irrigation: supplying water to land that is used for crops, farmers use irrigation when rainfall is not enough to water their crops and help them grow
Machine: a device that does a physical task
Piping: one or more pipes, often made of metal or plastic, that help move liquids and other materials to and from different places
Pollutant: A material that can hurt an ecosystem or natural area. Pollutants can include pesticides, fertilizer, trash and litter, chemicals, bacteria, and sediment.
Pollution: Pollution occurs when pollutants get into a natural area and cause harmful effects to the natural area.
Precipitation: Rain, snow, or any other form of water that falls from the sky to the earth.
Supports: objects that help hold the weight of something or help to keep it standing up
Surface Water: water that is on the surface of the earth (examples: rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans)
Water Cycle: The journey that water takes from the sea or surface of the earth to the sky, to the land, and back to the sea. This cycle is very important to life because it supports plants and animals.
Water Filtration: the process of taking dirt and harmful things out of water so that it can be used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and other daily jobs
Watershed: An area of land where water flows to a specific place, such as a river or the ocean. When rain falls in a watershed, it will eventually end up in that body of water.