WATER TERMS

term	description
THERMAL CHIMNEY	A section of a building where solar hear or thermal currents are controlled in a manner that stimulates an updraft and the exhaust of heated air. This draws in fresh air to occupied areas of the building through open windows or vents and is a passive cooling method.
THERMAL ENVELOPE	The shell of a building that essentially creates a barrier from the elements. A highly insulated thermal envelope allows maximum control of interior temperatures with minimal outdoor influence.
THERMAL MASS	Materials that absorb hear or coolness and store if for a long period of time. Water and masonry materials can provide thermal mass. Such materials react slowly to temperature variations and are important aspects of any passive heating or cooling system.
THERMAL POLLUTION	The degradation of water quality by the introduction of a heated effluent. It is primarily the result of the discharge of cooling waters from industrial processes, particularly from electrical power generation. ``Waste heat eventually results from virtually every energy conversion.
TIDAL POWER	A form of power obtained from the filling and emptying of a bay or an estuary that can be closed by a dam. The enclosed basin is allowed to fill and empty only during brief periods at high and low tides in order to develop as much power as possible.
TIDES	The rise and fall of the surface of oceans, seas, bays, rivers, and other water bodies caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun occurring unequally on different parts of the earth.
TITRANT	A solution of known strength or concentration; used in titration.
TITRATION	A process whereby a solution of known strength (titrant) is added to a certain volume of treated sample containing an indicator. A color change shows when the reaction is complete.
TITRATOR	An instrument, usually a calibrated cylinder (tube-form), used in titration to measure the amount of titrant being added to the sample.
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS	The amount of material (inorganic salts and small amounts of organic material) dissolved in water and commonly expressed as a concentration in terms of milligrams per liter. The term is equivalent to the term filterable residue, as used in the publication entitled Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
TRACS	The TWC Regulatory Activities and Compliance System. A relational database developed in the Ingris system which integrates with the TWC GIS system to provide a total data management system for the State.
TRANSPIRATION	The process by which water vapor escapes from the living plant, principally the leaves, and enters the atmosphere.
TRIBUTARY	A stream or other body of water, surface or underground, which contributes its water, even though intermittently and in small quantities, to another and larger stream or body of water.
TROPICAL HARDWOOD	Wood products harvested from tropical rain forests. Tropical forests are not being harvested in a well-managed manner except in a few isolated cases. Certification efforts indicating sustainably harvested woods are just beginning.
TROPOSPHERE	The layer of atmosphere closest to the earth, extending seven to ten miles above the earth. It usually contains clouds and moisture.
TURBINE	A propeller or wheel device driven by the pressure of liquid or gas.
TEXAS CLEAN RIVERS ACT	Senate Bill 818; the legislation requiring the assessment of water quality on a basin-by-basin basis.
TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS	Total suspended matter in water, which is commonly expressed as a concentration in terms of milligrams per liter. The term is equivalent to the term nonfilterable residue, as used in the publication entitled Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
TOTAL TOXICITY	Toxicity as determined by exposing aquatic organisms to samples or dilutions of instream water or treated effluent. Also referred to as whole~flluent toxicity.
TOXIC MATERIALS	Any liquid, gaseous, or solid substance or substances in a concentration which, when applied to, discharged to, or deposited in the waters in the state, may exert a poisonous effect detrimental to man or to the propagation, cultivation or conservation of animals, fish, or other aquatic life.
TOXICITY	The occurrence of lethal or sublethal adverse effects on representative, sensitive organisms due to exposure to toxic materials. Adverse effects caused by conditions of temperature, dissolved oxygen, or nontoxic dissolved substances are excluded from the definition of toxicity.
TRACE	The amount of rainfall or other form of precipitation which occurs when the quantity is so small that it cannot be measured in the rain gage.

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