Glossary of Terms, Agencies, Laws, and Organizations – FWEE – Foundation for Water & Energy Education

Glossary A-F
Glossary G-K
Glossary L-R
Glossary S-Z

A-RUN STEELHEAD	Summer steelhead crossing Bonneville Dam on or before August 25.
ABIOTIC	The absence of living organisms.
ACCLIMATE	The adaptation of an organism to environmental changes.
ACCLIMATION POND	Concrete or earthen pond or a temporary structure used for rearing and imprinting juvenile fish in the water of a particular stream before their release into that stream.
ACID RAIN	Rainfall with a pH of less than 7.0. Long-term deposition of these acids is linked to adverse effects on aquatic organisms and plant life in areas with poor neutralizing (buffering) capacity.
ACRE	A measure of area equal to 43,560 square feet (4,046.87 square meters). One square mile equals 640 acres.
ACRE-FOOT	Volume covering one acre to a depth of one foot. This volume measurement is used to describe a quantity of storage in a reservoir.
ADAPTATION	Adjustment to environmental conditions
ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT	A scientific policy that seeks to improve management of biological resources, particularly in areas of scientific uncertainty, by viewing program actions as vehicles for learning. Projects are designed and implemented as experiments so that even if they fail, they provide useful information for future actions. Monitoring and evaluation are emphasized so that the interaction of different elements of the system are better understood.
ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT AREAS	Landscape units designated for development and testing of technical and social approaches to achieving desired ecological, economic, and other social objectives.
ADFLUVIAL	Possessing a life history trait of migrating between lakes or rivers and streams.
ADULT FISH COUNTS	A fish-viewing window is at the upstream end of most fish ladders. Observers count the number of fish, by species and size, passing the window for 50 minutes of every hour for 16 hours per day. Extrapolations are made for the hours and minutes not counted to provide an estimate of daily adult fish passage for each dam. In general, separate counts are made for adults and jacks (precocious males that can be identified by their smaller size).
ADULT FISH LADDERS	The main-stem hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and lower Snake Rivers have fish ladders that allow adults to pass the dams on their upstream spawning migration.
AERATION	Any active or passive process by which intimate contact between air and liquid is assured, generally by spraying liquid in the air, bubbling air through water, or mechanical agitation of the liquid to promote surface absorption of air.
AEROBIC	Characterizing organisms able to live only in the presence of air or free oxygen, and conditions that exist only in the presence of air or free oxygen. Contrast with Anaerobic.
AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT	Existing biological, physical, social, and economic conditions of an area subject to change, both directly and indirectly, as the result of a proposed human action. Also, the chapter in an environmental impact statement describing current environmental conditions.
AFFLUENT (STREAM)	A stream or river that flows into a larger one; a Tributary.
ALEVIN	The developmental life stage of young salmonids and trout that are between the egg and fry stage. The alevin has not absorbed its yolk sac and has not emerged from the spawning gravels.
ALLUVIAL	Deposited by running water.
ALLUVIUM	Sediment or loose material such as clay, silt, sand, gravel, and larger rocks deposited by moving water.
ALTERNATIVE	One of several policies, plans, or projects proposed for making decisions.
ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC)	An electric current in which the electrons flow in alternate directions. In North American electrical grids, this reversal of flow is governed at 60 cycles per second (Hertz).
ANEROBIC	Characterizing organisms able to live and grow only where there is no air or free oxygen, and conditions that exist only in the absence of air or free oxygen.
AMERICAN PUBLIC POWER ASSOCIATION (APPA)	An organization that represents the interests of publicly owned utilities throughout the United States.
ANADROMOUS FISH	Fish that hatch in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, mature there and return to freshwater to spawn. Salmon and steelhead, for example.
ANNUAL OPERATING PLAN	A yearly plan for operating reservoirs on the Columbia River. Such a plan is specifically required by the Columbia River Treaty and by the Pacific Northwest Coordination Agreement.
APPROACH VELOCITIES	Water velocities at or near the face of a fish screen.
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM	Any body of water, such as a stream, lake or estuary, and all organisms and nonliving components within it, functioning as a natural system.
AQUATIC HABITAT	Habitat that occurs in free water.
AQUIFER	An underground layer of rock or soil containing ground water.
ARCH DAM	Curved masonry or concrete dam, convex in shape upstream, that depends on arch action for its stability; the load or water pressure is transferred by the arch to the Abutments.
ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CORPS)	An agency with the responsibility for design, construction and operation of civil works, including multipurpose dams and navigation projects.
ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION	(or Artificial propagation) Spawning, incubating, hatching or rearing fish in a hatchery or other facility constructed for fish production.
ARTIFICIAL PROPOGATION	Any assistance provided by man in the reproduction of Pacific salmon. This assistance includes, but is not limited to, spawning and rearing in hatcheries, stock transfers, creation of spawning habitat, egg bank programs, captive broodstock programs, and cryopreservation of gametes.
ASSESSMENT LEVEL	Categories of the level of complexity of and data available for each assessment included in this document; index of abundance (INDEX), yield-per-recruit analysis (YIELD), analysis of the age structure of the catch (AGE STRUCTURE), analysis including the relationship between recruitment and spawning stock size (SPAWNING STOCK) and assessment that allows prediction of future (one or two years ahead) stock sizes and catches (predictive). These levels are detailed in the subsection titled Kinds of Assessments.
ASSURED REFILL CURVE	A curve showing minimum elevations that must be maintained at each project to ensure refill even if the third lowest historical water year occurred; it sets limits on the production of energy.
AT-RISK FISH STOCKS	Stocks of anadromous salmon and trout that have been identified by professional societies, fish management agencies, and in the scientific literature as being in need of special management consideration because of low or declining populations.
ATTRACTION	Drawing fish to dam fishways or spillways through the use of water flows.
AUGMENTATION (OF STREAM FLOW)	Increasing steam flow under normal conditions, by releasing storage water from reservoirs.
AVERAGE MEGAWATTS (aMW)	The energy produced by the continuous operation of one megawatt of capacity over a period of one year. (One average megawatt is equivalent to 8.76 million kilowatt-hours)
AVOIDED COST	A guideline for comparing the value of conservation and renewable resources with other resources. Literally, the cost a utility avoids by purchasing a conservation or renewable resource versus acquiring energy elsewhere.
B-RUN STEELHEAD	Summer steelhead crossing Bonneville Dam after August 25.
BASELOAD	In a demand sense, a load that varies only slightly in level over a specified time period. In a supply sense, a plant that operates most efficiently at a relatively constant level of generation.
BEDROCK	The solid rock at the surface or underlying other surface materials. Rock of relatively great thickness and extent in its native location.
BENEFICIAL USE	Water loss through use for the betterment of society, e.g. irrigation or municipal use.
BIOLOGICAL OPINION	Document stating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service opinion as to whether a Federal action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a threatened or endangered species, or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY	The variety of, and variability among, living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Biological diversity at its most basic level is the genetic diversity (genetic variation found within each species), phenotypic and morphological diversity (physical, life history and behavioral variation found within each species), species diversity (number of species in a given ecosystem), and community/ecosystem diversity (variety of habitat types and ecosystem processes extending over a region).
BIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE	The responses of populations to habitat conditions, described in terms of capacity, abundance, productivity, and life history diversity.
BIOLOGICAL POTENTIAL	The biological potential of a species means the potential capacity, productivity and life history diversity of a population in its habitat at each life stage.
BIOMASS	The total quantity (at any given time) of living organisms of one or more species per unit of space (species biomass), or of all the species in a biotic community (community biomass).
BIOMASS CONVERSION	The process by which organic materials, such as wood waste or garbage, are burned for direct energy or electrical generation, or by which these materials are converted to synthetic natural gas.
BLACKOUT	An emergency forced outage or other fault in the generation, transmission or distribution system that causes the disconnection of the source of electricity from all the electrical loads in a certain geographical area.
BLOCKED AREAS	Areas in the Columbia River Basin where hydroelectric projects have created permanent barriers to anadromous fish runs. These include the areas above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams, the Hells Canyon Complex and other smaller locations.
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION	BPA is the sole federal power marketing agency in the Northwest and the region's major wholesaler of electricity. Created by Congress in 1937, BPA serves the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana west of the continental divide, and small adjacent portions of California, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. BPA markets and transmits power, coordinates operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System, and manages a large portion of the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest Intertie. Although it lacks authority to build or own dams or power plants, BPA does own and operate, within its service area, the nation's largest network of long distance transmission lines. Though part of the Department of Energy, BPA is not funded by tax revenues; the agency recovers the cost of operations and maintenance mainly through its electrcity rates.
BOREAL FOREST	A northern forest, as in the boreal forest Biome, characterized by evergreen conifers and long winters. The boreal forest, also referred to as a Taiga, is found in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.
BRACKISH WATER	Generally, water containing dissolved minerals in amounts that exceed normally acceptable standards for municipal, domestic, and irrigation uses. Considerably less saline than sea water. Also, Marine and Estuarine waters with Mixohaline salinity (0.5 to 30 due to ocean salts). Water containing between 1,000-4,000 parts per million (PPM) Total Dissolved Solids TDS). The term brackish water is frequently interchangeable with Saline Water. The term should not be applied to inland waters.
BROOD STOCK	Adult fish used to propagate the subsequent generation of hatchery fish.
BROOD YEAR	The year in which the eggs were spawned
BROODLINE	The generation of pink salmon that reproduces every other year. Because of the lack of variable age structure in this species, even-year pink salmon are reproductively isolated from odd-year pink salmon.
BROOK	A natural stream of water, smaller than a river or creek; especially a small stream or rivulet which breaks directly out of the ground, as from a spring or seep; also, a stream or torrent of similar size, produced by copious rainfall, melting snow and ice, etc.; a primary stream not formed by tributaries, though often fed below its source, as by rills or runlets; one of the smallest branches or ultimate ramifications of a drainage system.
BROWNOUT	An intentional voltage reduction used to reduce energy loads in an area. A brownout causes lights to dim and motors to run more slowly.
BTU (BRITISH THERMAL UNIT)	The amount of heat energy necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. (One kilowatt-hour is equal to 3,413 BTUs.)
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS (BIA)	The Bureau of Indian Affairs mission is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives.
BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR	An agency that administers some parts of the federal program for water resource development and use in western states. The Bureau of Reclamation owns and operates a number of dams in the Columbia River Basin, including Grand Coulee and several projects on the Yakima River.
BUTTRESS DAM	A dam consisting of a watertight upstream face supported at intervals on the downstream side by a series of buttresses.
BYPASS SYSTEM	Structure in a dam that provides a route for fish to move through or around the dam without going through the turbines.
CANAL	A constructed open channel for transporting water.
CANOPY	A layer of foliage in a forest stand. This most often refers to the uppermost layer of foliage, but it can be used to describe lower layers in a multistoried stand. Leavs, branches and vegetation that are above ground and/or water that provide shade and cover for fish and wildlife.
CAPTIVE BROODSTOCK	Fish raised and spawned in captivity.
CAPACITY	The maximum sustainable amount of power that can be produced by a generator or carried by a transmission facility at any instant.
CATCHMENT BASIN	Unit watershed; an area from which all the drainage water passes into one stream or other body of water.
CARRYING CAPACITY (SPECIES)	The number of individuals of one species that the resources of a habitat can support.
CASCADE	A short, steep drop in stream bed elevation often marked by boulders and agitated white water.
CATADROMOUS	Refers to fishes that migrate from fresh water to salt water to spawn or reproduce such as the American eel.
CATCHMENT	(1) The catching or collecting of water, especially rainfall. (2) A reservoir or other basin for catching water. (3) The water thus caught.
CHANNEL	Natural or artificial watercourse of perceptible extent, with a definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water. Rivers and streams. A general term for any natural or artificial facility for conveying water.
CEREMONIAL OR SUBSISTENCE HARVEST	Harvests of fish by Native Americans for ceremonies and to support traditional lifestyles.
CHANNEL	An area that contains continuously or periodically flowing water that is confined by banks and a stream bed.
CHECK DAM	A small dam constructed in a gully or other small water course to decrease the streamflow velocity, minimize channel erosion, promote deposition of sediment and to divert water from a channel.
COFFERDAM	A temporary structure enclosing all or part of the construction area so that construction can proceed in the dry.
CLEAN WATER ACT	The act establishes a complete regulatory system for navigable waters in the United States, whether on public or private land. It sets national policies to eliminate discharge of water pollutants from point sources without permits. It authorizes EPA to set water quality criteria for states to use to establish water quality standards.
COGENERATION	The simultaneous production of electricity and useful thermal energy. This is frequently accomplished by using steam to both generate power and to provide space or water heating for industrial processes.
COLLECTION AND BYPASS SYSTEM	A system at a dam that collects and holds the fish approaching the dam for later transportation or moves them through or around the dam without going through the turbine units.
COLONIZATION	The establishment of a species in an area not currently occupied by that species. Colonization often involves dispersal across an area of unsuitable habitat.
COLUMBIA BASIN FISH AND WILDLIFE AUTHORITY (CBFWA)	Represents regional state and federal fish agencies and the Columbia Basin Indian Tribes.
COLUMBIA RIVER ALLIANCE	Formed in 1990, the CRA represents a diverse spectrum of interests supporting a balanced, multi-use river system in the Columbia Basin. The alliance -- with members throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana -- represents communities, agricultural associations, timber interests, irrigators, ports, electric utilities and manufacturing industries. It's offices are in Portland.
COLUMBIA RIVER COMPACT	An interstate compact between the states of Oregon and Washington by which the states jointly regulate fish in the Columbia River.
COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEM	The Columbia River and its tributaries.
COLUMBIA RIVER TREATY	The treaty between the United States and Canada for the joint development of the Columbia River. It became effective on September 16, 1964.
COLUMBIA STORAGE POWER EXCHANGE (CSPE)	The CSPE is a nonprofit corporation formed by eight public and three private utilities in 1964 to implement portions of the Columbia River Treaty with Canada. Under the treaty, Canada agreed to build two storage dams and one dam for generation on the upper Columbia, resulting in greater power and flood control benefits at U.S. facilities downstream. Canada receives half of the increased output at U.S. dams -- a share referred to as the Canadian Entitlement. Not needing the additonal power, Canada sought to sell its entitlement under 30-year contracts to the United States.
COMBINED CYCLE	The combination of a gas turbine and steam turbine in an electric generating plant. The waste heat from the first turbine cycle provides the heat energy for the second turbine cycle.
COMBUSTION TURBINE	A turbine engine generator often fired by natural gas. The turbine generator is turned by combustion gases rather than by steam.
COMMERCIAL FISHERY (OR HARVEST)	A fishery, using various types of fishing gear, that is intended to harvest one or more species of fish for the purpose of selling them to fish buyers or directly to the public.
CONDUCTOR	Any material that will carry the flow of electricity. In utilities, usually refers to the wire or cable that constitute power lines.
CONFLUENCE	(1) The act of flowing together; the meeting or junction of two or more streams; also, the place where these streams meet. (2) The stream or body of water formed by the junction of two or more streams; a combined flood.
CONSERVATION	A resource produced by increasing the efficiency of energy use, production or distribution.
CONSUMPTIVE USE	A use which lessens the amount of water available for another use. Water uses normally associated with man's activities, primarily municipal, industrial, and irrigation uses that deplete water supplies.
COOPERATIVE (CO-OP)	A private non-profit utility owned by its members and essentially self-regulated by an elected board of directors.
COORDINATED OPERATION	The operation of two or more interconnected electrical systems or a group of hydro plants to achieve greater reliability and economy.
COST-EFFECTIVE	Where equally effective alternative means of achieving the same sound biological objective exist, the alternative with the minimum economic cost is considered the most cost-effective measure.
CORRIDOR	A defined tract of land, usually linear, through which a species must travel to reach habitat suitable for reproduction and other life-sustaining needs.
COVER	Vegetation used by wildlife for protection from predators, or to mitigate weather conditions, or to reproduce. May also refer to the protection of the soil and the shading provided to herbs and forbs by vegetation.
CRITICAL HABITAT	Under the Endangered Species Act, critical habitat is defined as (1) the specific areas within the geographic area occupied by a federally listed species on which are found physical and biological features essential to the conservation of the species, and that may require special management considerations or protections; and (2) specific areas outside the geographic area occupied by a listed species, when it is determined that such areas are essential for the conservation of the species.
CRITICAL RULE CURVES	A set of curves that define reservoir elevations that must be maintained to ensure that firm energy requirements can be met under the most adverse historical streamflow conditions. Critical rule curves are derived for all four years in the critical period. They are used to guide reservoir operation for power.
CRITICAL WATER PERIOD	The "Worst Case" water condition under which the region's hydropower resource would generate the least amount of energy (about 12,500 aMW, as compared to 16,600 aMW in an average year). The definition of critical water is based on the lowest water condition on record (August 1928 to February 1932) measured at The Dalles Dam.
CRUCIAL HABITAT	Habitat that is basic to maintaining viable populations of fish and wildlife during certain seasons of the year or specific reproduction periods.
CUBIC FEET PER SECOND (CFS)	A measurement of water flow representing one cubic foot of water moving past a given point in one second.
CURTAILMENT	A temporary, mandatory load reduction under emergency conditions taken after all possible conservation and load management measures, and prompted by problems of meeting baseload rather than an upswing or peak.
DAM	A concrete or earthen barrier constructed across a river and designed to control water flow or create a reservoir.
DEFLECTOR SCREENS/DIVERSION SCREENS	Wire mesh screens placed at the point where water is diverted from a stream or river. The screens keep fish from entering the diversion channel or pipe.
DEMAND	The rate at which electric energy is used, whether at a given instant, or averaged over any designated period of time
DEMAND-SIDE	When looking at the entire electric system as a whole, the portion that determines the amount of demand (furnaces, motors, lights, etc.).
DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT (DSM)	Strategies for reducing consumption by influencing when and how customers use electricity. Demand-side management includes such things as conservation programs and incentives for switching electricity use from mid-day to evening.
DEMOGRAPHICS	Characteristics of human populations, especially size, density, growth, distribution, migration and vital statistics and the effect of these on social and economic conditions.
DENSITY (BIOLOGICAL POPULATION)	The number or size of a population in relation to some unit of space.
DEREGULATION	The loosening of federal and state laws and regulations that govern the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
DEWATERING	Elimination of water from a lake, river, stream, reservoir, or containment.
DIKE	(1) (Engineering) An embankment to confine or control water, especially one built along the banks of a river to prevent overflow of lowlands; a levee. (2) A low wall that can act as a barrier to prevent a spill from spreading. (3) (Geology) A tabular body of igneous (formed by volcanic action) rock that cuts across the structure of adjacent rocks or cuts massive rocks.
DIRECT CURRENT (DC)	An electrical current in which the electrons flow continuously in one direction. Direct Current is used in specialized applications in commercial electric generation, transmission and distribution systems.
DIRECT SERVICE INDUSTRY (DSI)	An industrial customer that buys power directly from BPA. Most Direct Service Industries are aluminum factories.
DISCHARGE	Volume of water flowing at a given time, usually expressed in cubic feet per second.
DISSOLVED GAS	The amount of chemicals normally occurring as gases, such as nitrogen and oxygen, that are held in solution in water, expressed in units such as milligrams of the gas per liter of liquid. Supersaturation occurs when these solutions exceed the saturation level of the water (beyond 100 percent).
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM	The system that transports electricity from the substation to customers. At Snohomish County PUD, the distribution system carries power at 12,500 volts.
DIVERSION DAM	A barrier built to divert part or all of the water from a stream into a different course.
DRAFT	Release of water from a reservoir storage, usually measured in feet of reservoir elevation.
DRAINAGE	An area (basin) mostly bounded by ridges or other similar topographic features, encompassing part, most, or all of a watershed and enclosing some 5,000 acres.
DRAWDOWN	The distance that the water surface of a reservoir is lowered from a given elevation as water is released from the reservoir. Also refers to the act of lowering reservoir levels.
DREDGING	Digging up and removing material from wetlands or waterways, usually to make them deeper or wider.
DROUGHT	Generally, the term is applied to periods of less than average or normal precipitation over a certain period of time sufficiently prolonged to cause a serious hydrological imbalance resulting in biological losses (impact flora and fauna ecosystems) and/or economic losses (affecting man). In a less precise sense, it can also signify nature's failure to fulfill the water wants and needs of man.
EARTHFILL OR EARTH DAM	An embankment dam in which more than 50 percent of the total volume is formed of compacted fine-grained material obtained from a borrow area (i.e., excavation pit).
EAST-SIDE FOREST	The 12 National Forests in Washington, Oregon, and California that lie partly or wholly east of the Cascade Mountain Range crest: Colville, Deschutes, Fremont, Klamath, Malheur, Ochoco, Okanogan, Shasta-Trinity, Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, Wenatchee, and Winema National Forest.
ECOLOGICAL HEALTH	The state of an ecosystem in which processes and functions are adequate to maintain diversity of biotic communities commensurate with those initially found there.
ECOLOGY	Branch of biological science which deals with relationships between living organisms and their environments.
ECOSYSTEM	The biological community considered together with the land and water that make up its environment.
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY	The variety of species and ecological processes that occur in different physical settings.
ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT	A strategy or plan to manage ecosystems to provide for all associated organisms, as opposed to a strategy or plan for managing individual species.
EDDY	A circular current of water, usually resulting from an obstruction.
EDGE	Where plant communities meet or where successional stages or vegetative conditions with plant communities come together.
EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE (EEI)	An organization that represents the interests of investor-owned utilities in the United States.
EFFLUENT	(1) Something that flows out or forth, especially a stream flowing out of a body of water. (2) (Water Quality) Discharged wastewater such as the treated wastes from municipal sewage plants, brine wastewater from desalting operations, and coolant waters from a nuclear power plant.
EIS	Environmental Impact Statement.
EL NINO CURRENT	An intermittent warm water current that originates from the tropics and overrides the normal cold water currents that persist along the Pacific coast, resulting in warmer than normal ocean conditions.
END USE	A term referring to the final use of energy. In the aggregate, it is used the same as demand. In more detailed use, it often refers to specific energy services, such as space heating.
ELECTRIC CONSUMERS PROTECTION ACT OF 1986	declared that municipal preferences would not apply in FERC relicensing decisions. It also required FERC to give equal consideration to environmental concerns, such as protecting fish and wildlife and enhancing recreation and conservation, as well as energy concerns, in making licensing and relicensing decisions.
ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS (EMF)	Invisible force fields that surround the movement of electricity. Everything electrical produces EMF.
ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (EPRI)	An organization based in Palo Alto, Calif. that uses money from member utilities to fund the research and development of technologies related to the generation, delivery and use of electricity.
EMBANKMENT	An artificial deposit of material that is raised above the natural surface of the land and used to contain, divert, or store water, support roads or railways, or for other similar purposes.
EMBANKMENT DAM	A dam structure constructed of fill material, usually earth or rock, placed with sloping sides and usually with a length greater than its height.
EMBEDDED COST	The fixed cost of all facilities in the power supply system, including generating plants, substations and distribution lines.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973	Most recently amended in 1988, establishes a national program for the conservation of threatened and endangered species of fish, wildlife and plants and the preservation of the ecosystems on which they depend. Section 7(a) of the ESA requires federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NMFS to ensure that actions they take are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or damage their habitat. Section 7(c) of the ESA requires that federal agencies prepare biological assessments of the potential effects of major construction actions on listed or proposed endangered species and critical habitat.
ENERGY	The ability to work (i.e., exert a force over distance). Energy is measured in calories, joules, KWH, BTUs, MW-hours, and average MWs.
ENERGY POLICY ACT (EPACT)	Comprehensive federal legislation enacted in 1992 that is resulting in fundamental changes in the electric utility industry by promoting competion in wholesale electricity markets. Title VII, the electricity title of the Act, made it easier for non-utility producers to participate in the electric generation market by exempting them from regulatory restrictions imposed by the Public Utility Holding Act.
ENHANCEMENT	Emphasis on improving the value of particular aspects of water and related land resources.
ENTRAINMENT	(Streams) The incidental trapping of fish and other aquatic organisms in the water, for example, used for cooling electrical power plants or in waters being diverted for irrigation or similar purposes.
ENVIRONMENT	All biological, chemical, social, and physical factors to which organisms are exposed. The surroundings that affect the growth and development of an organism.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA)	A systematic analysis of site-specific activities used to determine whether such activities have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment and whether a formal environmental impact statement is required; and to aid an agency's compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act when no environmental impact statement is necessary.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS	The environmental conditions or changes sought to achieve the desired changes in population characteristics.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT	The positive or negative effect of any action upon a give area or resource.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT	A formal document to be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency that considers significant environmental impacts expected from implementation of a major federal action.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS	The environmental conditions or changes sought to achieve the desired changes in population characteristics.
EROSION	Wearing away of rock or soil by the gradual detachment of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice, and other mechanical, chemical, or biological forces.
ESA	The U.S. Endangered Species Act.
ESCAPEMENT	The number of salmon and steelhead that return to a specified point of measurement after all natural mortality and harvest have occurred. Spawning escapement consists of those fish that survive to spawn.
ESTUARY	The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met and influenced by the tides.
ESU	Evolutionarily Significant Unit
EUTROPHIC	Usually refers to a nutrient-enriched, highly productive body of water.
EUTROPHICATION	The process of enrichment of water bodies by nutrients.
EVAPORATION	The physical process by which a liquid (or a solid) is transformed to the gaseous state. In Hydrology, evaporation is vaporization that takes place at a temperature below the boiling point.
EVOLUTIONARILY SIGNIFICANT UNIT (ESU)	"A definition of ""species"" used by NMFS in administering the Endangered Species Act. An ESU is a population (or groups of populations) that (1) is reproductively isolated from other conspecific population units, and (2) represents an important component in the evolutionary legacy of the species."
EXOTIC SPECIES	Introduced species not native to the place where they are found (e.g., Atlantic salmon to Oregon or Washington).
EXTINCTION	The natural or human-induced process by which a species, subspecies or population ceases to exist.
FAUNA	(1) A term used to describe the animal species of a specific region or time. (2) All animal life associated with a given habitat, country, area, or period.
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (FERC)	An independent regulatory agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. Regulates power projects on navigable waters and the transmission and sale of electricity in interstate commerce.
FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS	This category includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Bureau of Land Management; the National Park Service, all part of the U.S. Department of the Interior; and the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
FEDERAL PROJECT OPERATORS AND REGULATORS	Federal agencies that operate or regulate hydroelectric projects in the Columbia River Basin. They include the Bonneville Power Administration, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FILL	(Geology) Any sediment deposited by any agent such as water so as to fill or partly fill a channel, valley, sink, or other depression.
FILL DAM	Any dam constructed of excavated natural materials or of industrial waste materials.
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (FEIS)	The final report of environmental effects of proposed action on an area of land. This is required for major federal actions under Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act. It is a revision of the draft environmental impact statement to include public and agency responses to the draft.
FIRM ENERGY	The amount of energy that can be generated given the region's worst historical water conditions. It is energy produced on a guaranteed basis.
FISHERY	The aquatic region in which a certain species of fish lives. The act, process, or occupation of attempting to catch fish, which may be retained or released.
FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES	This category includes the Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; the Idaho Department of Fish and Game; the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks; the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Department of Commerce; the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDINATION ACT OF 1934	Directs that conservation of fish and wildlife resources be given equal consideration with the other aspects of water resources development projects. It requires evaluation of potential damage to fish and wildlife that may result from proposing habitat alteration. Anyone proposing to impound, control or modify any water body must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That agency prepares a report, which includes comments from state and federal agencies, such as NMFS, that addresses fish and wildlife concerns and recommends mitigation for impacts.
FISH FLOWS	"Artificially increased flows in the river system called for in the fish and wildlife program to quickly move the young fish down the river during their spring migration period. (See ""water budget."")"
FISH GUIDANCE EFFICIENCY (FGE)	The proportion of juvenile fish passing into the turbine intakes that are diverted away from the turbines and into bypass facilities.
FISH AND WILDLIFE COORDINATION ACT OF 1934	Directs that conservation of fish and wildlife resources be given equal consideration with the other aspects of water resources development projects. It requires evaluation of potential damage to fish and wildlife that may result from proposing habitat alteration. Anyone proposing to impound, control or modify any water body must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That agency prepares a report, which includes comments from state and federal agencies, such as NMFS, that addresses fish and wildlife concerns and recommends mitigation for impacts.
FISH LADDERS	A series of ascending pools constructed to enable salmon or other fish to swim upstream around or over a dam.
FISH PASSAGE EFFICIENCY (FPE)	The proportion of juvenile fish passing a project through the spillway, sluiceway, or juvenile bypass system, as opposed to passing through the turbines.
FISH SCREEN	A screen across the turbine intake of a dam, designed to divert the fish into the bypass system.
FISH PASSAGE FACILITIES	Features of a dam that enable fish to move around, through, or over without harm. Generally an upstream fish ladder or a downstream bypass system.
FIXED COST	Costs of generation projects incurred regardless of the amount of energy produced. Such costs normally include capital costs, the cost of financing construction (in the form of interest) and insurance.
FLOOD CONTROL RULE CURVE	A curve, or family of curves, indicating reservoir drawdown required to control floods. (Also called Mandatory Rule Curve or Upper Rule Curve.)
FLOW	The volume of water passing a given point per unit of time.
FLOW AUGMENTATION	Water from a storage reservoir added to enhance flow, particularly to aid fish migration.
FLUVIAL	Migrating between main rivers and tributaries. Of or pertaining to streams or rivers.
FOOD CHAIN	Organisms that are interrelated in their feeding habits, each feeding upon organisms that are lower in the chain and in turn being fed on by organisms higher in the chain.
FOREBAY	The part of a dam's reservoir that is immediately upstream from the powerhouse.
FOREBAY GUIDANCE NET	A large net placed in the forebay of a dam to guide juvenile fish away from the powerhouse.
FORECASTING	The process of estimating or calculating electricity load or resource production at some point in the future.
FRESHET	A rapid temporary rise in streamflow caused by heavy rains or rapid snowmelt.
FULL POOL	The maximum level of a reservoir under its established normal operating range.
Sources: Snohomish County P.U.D. The Columbia River System: The Inside Story A 1991 publication from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration Public Power Fundamentals, a 1995 publication from the Public Power Council Northwest Power Planning Council 2001 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Description StreamNet.org, 2001 Glossary of Terms Bureau of Reclamation, Glossary of Hydropower Terms

GABION	A wire basket or cage that is filled with gravel and generally used to stabilize stream banks and improve degraded aquatic habitat.
GAP ANALYSIS	A method for determining spatial relationships between areas of high biological diversity and the boundaries of National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges (NWR), and other preserves.
GAS SUPERSATURATION	The overabundance of gases in turbulent water, such as at the base of a dam spillway. Can cause fatal condition in fish similar to the bends.
GENERATION	Act or process of producing electric energy from other forms of energy. Also refers to the amount of electric energy so produced.
GENERATOR	A machine that changes water power, steam power, or other kinds of mechanical energy into electricity.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)	A computer system capable of storing and manipulating spatial (i.e., mapped) data.
GEOTHERMAL	Power generated from heat energy derived from hot rock, hot water or steam in the Earth's surface.
GRAVITY DAM	A dam constructed of concrete and/or masonry that relies on its weight for stability.
GRAVITY FEED SYSTEM	A system that provides flow in a channel or conduit through the use of gravity.
GROUNDWATER	Subsurface water and underground streams that can be collected with wells, or that flow naturally to the earth's surface though springs.
HABITAT	The locality or external environment in which a plant or animal normally lives and grows. As used in this program, habitat includes the ecological functions of the habitat structure.
HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN (HCP)	An agreement between the Secretary of the Interior and either a private entity or a state that specifies conservation measures that will be implemented in exchange for a permit that would allow taking of a threatened or endangered species.
HARVEST MANAGEMENT	The process of setting regulations for the commercial, recreational and tribal fish harvest to achieve a specified goal within the fishery.
HATCHERY	Refers to facilities that incubate eggs and rear the young for release into streams and rivers.
HATCHERY PRODUCTION	The spawning, incubation, hatching, or rearing of fish in a hatchery or other artificial production facility.
HEAD	The vertical height of water in a reservoir above the turbine. The more head, the more power that is exerted on the turbine by the force of gravity.
HEADGATE	The gate that controls water flow into irrigation canals and ditches. A watermaster regulates the headgates during water distribution and posts headgate notices declaring official regulations.
HEADWATER	Referring to the source of a stream or river
HEADWORKS	A flow control structure on an irrigation canal.
HYDRAULIC HEAD	The vertical distance between the surface of the reservoir and the surface of the river immediately downstream from the dam.
HYDROELECTRIC	The production of electric power through use of the gravitational force of falling water.
HYDROLOGIC UNIT	A distinct watershed or river basin defined by an 8-digit code.
HYDROLOGY	The science dealing with the continuous cycle of evaporation transpiration, precipitation, and runoff.
IMPACT	A spatial or temporal change in the environment caused by human activity.
IMPOUNDMENT	A body of water formed behind a dam.
INCIDENTAL HARVEST	The take (or harvest) of species other than the target species in a fishery.
INCIDENTAL TAKE	"""Take"" of a threatened or endangered species that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity."
INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER (IPP)	A company that builds power plants in order to sell electricity on the open market.
INDICATOR (ORGANISM)	(Water Quality) An organism, species, or community that shows the presence of certain environmental conditions.
INDIGENOUS	Existing naturally in a region, state, country, etc.
INFLOW	Water that flows into a reservoir or forebay during a specified period.
INSTANTANEOUS FLOWS	The velocity of a volume of water.
INSTREAM	FLOWS The amount of water flowing in a stream. Regulators often consider factors like the natural hydrology of a stream and human developed diversions to determine the "instream flow" necessary to sustain fish habitat.
INTAKE	The entrance to a conduit through a dam or a water facility.
INTERRUPTIBLE POWER	Power that, by contract, can be interrupted in the event of a power deficiency.
INTERTIE	A transmission line or system of lines permitting a flow of electricity between major power systems.
INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITY (IOU)	A utility that is organized under state law as a corporation to provide electric power service and earn a profit for its stockholders.
IMPOUNDMENT	Body of water created by a dam.
IRRIGATION DIVERSION	Generally, a ditch or channel that deflects water from a stream channel for irrigation purposes.
IRRIGATION SCREENS	Screens using wire mesh placed at the point where water is diverted from a stream or river. The screens keep fish from entering the diversion channel or pipe.
JUVENILE	The early stage in the life cycle of anadromous fish when they migrate downstream to the ocean.
JUVENILE TRANSPORTATION	Collecting migrating juvenile fish and transporting them around the dams using barges or trucks.
KILOWATT (kW)	A unit of electrical power equal to one thousand watts.
KILOWATT-HOUR (kWh)	A basic unit of electrical energy which equals one kilowatt of power used for one hour.
Sources: Snohomish County P.U.D. The Columbia River System: The Inside Story A 1991 publication from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration Public Power Fundamentals, a 1995 publication from the Public Power Council Northwest Power Planning Council 2001 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Description StreamNet.org, 2001 Glossary of Terms Bureau of Reclamation, Glossary of Hydropower Terms

LANDSCAPE	A heterogenous land area with interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form throughout.
LEVEE	An embankment constructed to prevent a river from overflowing.
LIFE CYCLE	Various stages an animal passes through from egg fertilization to death.
LIMNOLOGY	The study of lakes, ponds and streams.
LITTORAL ZONE	The region of land bordering a body of water.
LOAD	The amount of electric power or energy delivered or required at any specified point or points on a system. Load originates primarily at the energy-consuming equipment of customers.
LOAD SHAPING	The adjustment of storage releases so that generation and load are continuously in balance.
LOCK	A chambered structure on a waterway closed off with gates for the purpose of raising or lowering the water level within the lock chamber so ships can move from one elevation to another along the waterway.
LOW-HEAD DAM	A dam at which the water in the reservoir is not high above the turbine units.
MACROINVERTEBRATE	Invertebrates visible to the naked eye, such as insect larvae and crayfish.
MACROPHYTES	Aquatic plants that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye.
MAINSTEM	The principal river in a basin, as opposed to the tributary streams and smaller rivers that feed into it.
MEGAWATT (MW)	A megawatt is one million watts, a measure of electrical power.
MEGAWATT-HOUR (MWH)	A unit of electrical energy which equals one megawatt of power used for one hour.
MID-COLUMBIA	The section of the Columbia River from its junction with the Snake River up to Grand Coulee Dam.
MID-COLUMBIA DAMS	Dams owned by the mid-Columbia Public Utility Districts. They include Wells, Rocky Reach, Rock Island, Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams.
MIGRATING	Moving from one area of residence to another.
MILL	One tenth of a cent. The cost of electricity is often expressed in mills per kilowatt-hour. (25 mills = 2.5 cents).
MINIMUM FLOW LEVEL	The level of stream flow sufficient to support fish and other aquatic life; to minimize pollution; or to maintain other instream uses such as recreation and navigation.
MINIMUM OPERATING POOL	The lowest water level of an impoundment at which navigation locks can still operate
MITCHELL ACT	The Mitchell Act of 1938 (Public Law No. 75-502, 16 U.S.C. 755), which authorizes federal funds for hatchery construction and operation within the Columbia River Basin.
MITIGATING MEASURES	Modifications of actions that (1) avoid impacts by not taking a certain action of parts of an action; (2) minimize impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation; (3) rectify impacts by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment; (4) reduce or eliminate impacts over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action; or (5) compensate for impacts by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.
MITIGATION	The act of alleviating or making less severe. Generally refers to efforts to alleviate the impacts of hydropower development to the Columbia Basins salmon and steelhead runs.
MIXED STOCK	A stock whose individuals originated from commingled native and non-native parents; or a previously native stock that has undergone substantial genetic alteration.
MONITOR	To systematically and repeatedly measure conditions in order to track changes.
MORTALITY	The number of fish lost or the rate of loss.
MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT	A project designed for irrigation, power, flood control, municipal and industrial, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits, in any combinations of two or more (contrasted to single-purpose projects serving only one need).
MUNICIPAL UTILITY	A utility owned and operated by a city.
NAMEPLATE RATING	The output capacity of a generating device as designated by the manufacturer. The nameplate is usually attached to the individual machine.
NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992	A law aimed at increasing efficiency in the electric utility industry by enhancing competition in generation. It opens up transmission access in an unprecedented fashion by giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to order utilities to provide transmission to other utilities, federal power marketing agencies or anyone else generating electric energy for sale.
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA) OF 1969	A law requiring agencies to consider the environmental impacts of major federal actions and to prepare environmental impact statements (EISs) which discuss these impacts and weigh alternatives. The law also requires public participation in the EIS process.
NATAL STREAM	Stream of birth.
NATIVE SPECIES	A species of fish indigenous to a specific state.
NATIVE STOCK	An indigenous stock of fish that has not been substantially affected by genetic interactions with non-native stocks or by other factors, and is still present in all or part of its original range.
NATURAL PRODUCTION	Spawning, incubating, hatching and rearing fish in rivers, lakes and streams without human intervention.
NATURALLY SPAWNING POPULATIONS	Populations of fish that have completed their entire life cycle in the natural environment and may be the progeny of wild, hatchery or mixed parentage.
NET PEN	A fish rearing enclosure used in lakes and marine areas.
NITROGEN SUPERSATURATION	A condition of water in which the concentration of dissolved nitrogen exceeds the saturation level of water. Excess nitrogen can harm the circulatory system of fish.
NITROGEN SUPERSATURATION	A condition of water in which the concentration of dissolved nitrogen exceeds the saturation level of water. Excess nitrogen can harm the circulatory systems of fish.
NONFIRM ENERGY	Energy available when water conditions are better than the worst historical pattern; generally such energy is sold on an interruptible (nonguaranteed) basis. Sometimes called secondary energy.
NON-POWER OPERATING REQUIREMENTS	Operating requirements at hydroelectric projects that pertain to navigation, flood control, recreation, irrigation, and other non-power uses of the river.
NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL/ACT	The Northwest Power Planning Council was created in 1981 in accordance with the Northwest Power Act of 1980. The Council is a regional planning agency composed of eight members, two each from the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Members are appointed by state governors and confirmed by state legislatures. The Council's primary responsibilities are 1) to develop a program to "protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife damaged by hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin; 2) to develop a 20-year regional conservation and electric power plan; and 3) to provide for broad public participation in its planning processes. The Council is not a part of BPA nor a federal agency funded by BPA rates.
NORTHWEST POWER POOL	The Northwest Power Pool is an association of generating utilities serving the Northwestern United States, British Columbia and Alberta. Members include the Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and all public and investor-owned utilities with generating resources. The association dates to 1942, when the United States government directed utilities to coordinate operations in support of wartime production. Activities of the Power Pool are determined by three committees. One deals with coordination of operations, the second with transmission issues and the third with administration of the Pacific Northwest Coordination Agreement of 1964. The agreement is a plan for coordinating hydropower generation and determining load carrying capability in the Columbia River Basin.
NORTHWEST POWER POOL COORDINATING GROUP	Made up of BPA, the Corps, Reclamation, and public utilities in the Northwest and British Columbia and Alberta. The group's primary functions are administering the Pacific Northwest Coordination Agreement and participating in Northwest Power Pool Committee activities.
NUTRIENT CYCLING	Circulation or exchange of elements such as nitrogen and carbon between nonliving and living portions of the environment.
NUTRIENT DEPLETION	Detrimental changes on a site in the total amount of nutrients and/or their rates of input, uptake, release, movement, transformation, or export.
OFFPEAK HOURS	Period of relatively low demand for electrical energy, as specified by the supplier (such as the middle of the night).
OFF-SITE MITIGATION	The improvement in conditions for fish or wildlife species away from the site of a hydroelectric project that had detrimental effects on fish and/or wildlife, as part or total compensation for those effects. An example of off-site mitigation is the fish passage restoration work being conducted in the Yakima River Basin for the detrimental effects caused by mainstem hydroelectric projects.
OPERATING LIMITS	Limits or requirements that must be factored into the planning process for operating reservoirs and generating projects. (Also see operating requirements, below.)
OPERATIONAL LOSSES	The direct wildlife losses caused by the day-to-day fluctuations in flows and reservoir levels resulting from the operation of the hydrosystem.
OPERATING REQUIREMENTS	Guidelines and limits that must be followed in the operation of a reservoir or generating project. These requirements may originate in authorizing legislation, physical plant limitations, or other sources.
OPERATING RULE CURVE	A curve, or family of curves, indicating how a reservoir is to be operated under specific conditions and for specific purposes.
OPERATING YEAR	The 12-month period from August 1 through July 31.
OUTAGES	Periods, both planned and unexpected, during which the transmission of power stops or a particular power-producing facility ceases to provide generation.
PACIFIC SALMON TREATY	A treaty signed by the United States and Canada in 1984 that governs the harvest of certain salmon stocks in the commercial fisheries of Alaska, Canada and the western continental United States.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COORDINATION AGREEMENT	A binding agreement among BPA, the Corps, Reclamation, and the major generating utilities in the Pacific Northwest that stemmed from the Columbia Treaty. The Agreement specifies a multitude of operating rules, criteria, and procedures for coordinating operations of the system for power production. It directs operation of major generating facilities as though they belonged to a single owner.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ELECTRIC POWER PLANNING CONSERVATION ACT OF 1980	Established the Northwest Power Planning Council to prepare a regional power plan that provides an adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply and to develop a program to protect, mitigate and enhance the fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin. The act also enabled BPA to acquire the output of raw resources to meet future load growth, established priorities for BPA resource aquistition, set terms of the Residential Exchange, and outlined ratemaking provisions for the agency.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST UTILITIES CONFERENCE COMMITTEE (PNUCC)	PNUCC represents the three constituencies in the Northwest energy community: public utilities, investor-owned utilities, and direct service industries. PNUCC provides a forum where its diverse membership can share information and views and work toward consensus on a variety of power and environmental issues that impact resource stability and future energy development.
PASSAGE	The movement of migratory fish through, around, or over dams, reservoirs and other obstructions in a stream or river.
PEAK LOAD	The maximum electrical demand in a stated period of time. It may be the maximum instantaneous load or the maximum average load within a designated period of time.
PENSTOCK	A pipeline or conduit designed to withstand pressure surges leading from a forebay or reservoir to power-producing turbines, or pump units.
PHOTOVOLTAIC	The direct conversion of sunlight to electric energy through the effects of solar radiation on semi-conductor materials.
PIT TAGS	Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags are used for identifying individual salmon for monitoring and research purposes. This miniaturized tag consists of an integrated microchip that is programmed to identify individual fish. The tag is inserted into the body cavity of the fish and decoded at selected monitoring sites.
PLANKTON	Minute floating forms of microscopic plants and animals in water which cannot get about to any extent under their own power. They form the important beginnings of food chains for larger animals.
PLUME	The area of the Pacific Ocean that is influenced by discharge from the Columbia River, up to 500 miles beyond the mouth of the river.
POOL	A reach of stream that is characterized by deep low velocity water and a smooth surface.
POWER BROKER	A company that acts as an agent in the sale of electricity from the company that generates the power to the company or customer that wants to buy the power.
POWERHOUSE	A primary part of a hydroelectric dam where the turbines and generators are housed and where power is produced by falling water rotating turbine blades.
POWER MARKETER	A company that purchases electricity from one company and then sells that electricity to another company or customer.
POWER PEAKING	The generation of electricity to meet maximum instantaneous power requirements; usually refers to daily peaks.
PREDATION	Hunting and killing another animal for food.
PUBLIC POWER COUNCIL (PPC)	Formed in 1966, PPC represents and advocates the common legal and technical interests of the Northwest's consumer-owned utilities. PPC interacts with BPA, the Northwest Power Planning Council and other regional and national groups on subjects including BPA rate proceedings and power marketing policies, public preference issues, power supply planning, conservation, legislative concerns, and related issues. Offices are located in Portland.
PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT OF 1978 (PURPA)	Federal law that requires utilities to purchase electricity from qualified independent power producers at a price that reflects what the utilities would have to pay for the construction of new generating resources (see avoided cost). Portions of the act were designed to encourage the development of small-scale cogeneration and renewable resources.
PUBLIC UTILITY	A private business organization, subject to government regulation, that provides an essential commodity or service, such as water, electricity, transportation, or communications, to the public.
PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT (PUD)	A government unit established by voters of a district to supply electric or other utility service.
PUMPED STORAGE PLANT	A hydroelectric power plant which generates electric energy to meet peak load by using water pumped into a storage reservoir during off-peak periods.
PREFERENCE	Priority granted by the Federal Power Act that grants public bodies and cooperatives priority access to federal power.
PUBLICLY OWNED UTILITY	A utility that is owned by the public, rather than by stockholders. Snohomish County PUD, Seattle City Light and Tacoma City Light are all publicly owned utilities.
RAPIDS	A reach of stream that is characterized by small falls and turbulent high velocity water.
REARING	The juvenile life stage of anadromous fish spent in freshwater rivers, lakes and streams before they migrate to the ocean.
RECOVERY RESTORATION	The reestablishment of a threatened or endangered species to a self-sustaining level in its natural ecosystem (i.e., to the point where the protective measures of the Endangered Species Act are no longer necessary).
RECREATIONAL FISHERY (OR HARVEST)	A fishery limited to use of certain gear types (usually rod and reel) where fish can only be used for personal consumption (not sold) or must be released unharmed.
REDDS	Spawning nests made in the gravel beds of rivers by salmon and steelhead.
REFILL	The annual process of filling a reservoir; also refers to the point at which the hydro system is considered full from the seasonal snowmelt runoff.
RELIABILITY	For a power system, a measure of the degree of certainty that the system will continue to meet load for a specified period of time.
RENEWABLE RESOURCE	A power source that is continuously or cyclically renewed by nature. In the Northwest Power Act, a resource that uses solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biomass or similar sources of energy.
RESERVE CAPACITY	Generating capacity used to meet unanticipated demands for power or to generate power in the event normal generating resources are not available.
RESIDENT FISH	Occupying headwater reaches; may disperse locally, but generally considered non-migratory.
RESERVOIR	A body of water collected and stored in an artificial lake behind a dam.
RESERVOIR ELEVATIONS	The levels of the water stored behind dams.
RESERVOIR STORAGE	The volume of water in a reservoir at a given time.
RESIDENT FISH	Fish that spend their entire life cycle in freshwater. In the Northwest, resident fish includes landlocked anadromous fish (e.g., white sturgeon, kokanee and coho), as well as traditionally defined resident fish species.
RESIDENT FISH SUBSTITUTIONS	The enhancement of resident fish to address losses of salmon and steelhead in those areas permanently blocked to anadromous (ocean-migrating) fish as a result of hydroelectric dams.
RIFFLE	A reach of stream that is characterized by shallow, fast moving water broken by the presence of rocks and boulders.
RIPARIAN	Living on or adjacent to a water supply such as a riverbank, lake, or pond. Of, on, or pertaining to the bank of a river, pond, or lake.
RIPARIAN HABITAT	Habitat along the banks of streams, lakes or rivers.
RIPRAP	A layer of large uncoursed stones, broken rock, boulders, precast blocks, bags of cement, or other suitable material generally placed in random fashion on the upstream and downstream faces of embankment dams, stream banks, on a reservoir shore, on the sides of a channel, or other land surfaces to protect them from erosion or scour caused by current, wind, wave, and/or ice action.
RIVER MILES	Miles from the mouth of a river; for upstream tributaries, from the confluence with the main river.
RULE CURVES	Water levels, represented graphically as curves, that guide reservoir operations.
RUN	A general term referring to upriver migration of anadromous fish over a particular time and area - often composed of multiple individual breeding stocks.
RUNOFF	Water that flows over the ground and reaches a stream as a result of rainfall or snowmelt.
RUN-OF-THE-RIVER DAMS	Hydroelectric generating plants that operate based only on available streamflow and short-term storage (hourly, daily, or weekly).
Sources: Snohomish County P.U.D. The Columbia River System: The Inside Story A 1991 publication from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration Public Power Fundamentals, a 1995 publication from the Public Power Council Northwest Power Planning Council 2001 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Description StreamNet.org, 2001 Glossary of Terms Bureau of Reclamation, Glossary of Hydropower Terms

SALMONID	A fish of the Salmonidae family, which includes soft-finned fish such as salmon, trout and whitefish.
SEDIMENT	The organic material that is transported and deposited by wind and water.
SEDIMENTATION	Deposition of sediment.
SHAPING	The scheduling and operation of generating resources to meet changing load levels. Load shaping on a hydro system usually involves the adjustment of reservoir releases so that generation and load are continuously in balance.
SILT	Substrate particles smaller than sand and larger than clay.
SILTATION	The deposition or accumulation of fine soil particles.
SLUICEWAY	An open channel inside a dam designed to collect and divert ice and trash in the river (e.g., logs) before they get into the turbine units and cause damage. (On several of the Columbia River dams, ice and trash sluiceways are being used as, or converted into, fish bypass systems.)
SMOLT	A juvenile salmon or steelhead migrating to the ocean and undergoing physiological changes to adapt its body from a freshwater to a saltwater environment.
SPAWNING	The releasing and fertilizing of eggs by fish.
SPECIES	A group of individuals of common ancestry that closely resemble each other structurally and physiologically and that can interbreed, producing fertile offspring.
SPILL	Water passed over a spillway without going through turbines to produce electricity. Spill can be forced, when there is no storage capability and flows exceed turbine capacity, or planned, for example, when water is spilled to enhance juvenile fish passage.
SPILLWAY	"The channel or passageway around or over a dam through which excess water is released or ""spilled"" past the dam without going through the turbines. A spillway is a safety valve for a dam and, as such, must be capable of discharging major floods without damaging the dam, while maintaining the reservoir level below some predetermined maximum level."
STATE WATER MANAGEMENT AGENCIES	State government agencies that regulate water resources. They include the Idaho Department of Water Resources; the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation; the Oregon Water Resources Department; and the Washington Department of Ecology.
STOCK	A population of fish spawning in a particular stream during a particular season. They generally do not interbreed with fish spawning in a different stream or at a different time.
STORAGE RESERVOIRS	Reservoirs that have space for retaining water from springtime snowmelts. Retained water is released as necessary for multiple uses -- power production, fish passage, irrigation, and navigation.
STRANDED COSTS	The cost of generating facilities or other obligations that may not be competitive in today's market. For example, let's say a utility built a power plant specifically to serve a large factory. With deregulation, if the people running that factory decide to buy cheaper power somewhere else, the utility's power plant would become a stranded cost. In other words, the higher cost of that power plant will have to be collected from somebody else.
STRATIFICATION	Thermal layering of water in lakes and streams
STREAMFLOW	The rate at which water passes a given point in a stream, usually expressed in cubic feet per second (cfs).
SUBBASIN	A set of adjoining watersheds with similar ecological conditions and tributaries that ultimately connect, flowing into the same river or lake. Subbasins contain major tributaries to the Columbia and Snake rivers.
SUBBASIN PLANNING	A coordinated systemwide approach to planning in which each subbasin in the Columbia system will be evaluated for its potential to produce fish in order to contribute to the goal of the overall system. The planning will emphasize the integration of fish and wildlife habitat, fish passage, harvest management and production.
SUPERSATURATION	See dissolved gas.
SUPPLEMENTATOIN	The release of hatchery fry and juvenile fish in the natural environment to quickly increase or establish naturally spawning fish populations.
SURPLUS ENERGY	Energy generated that is beyond the immediate needs of the producing system. This energy may be sold on an interruptible basis or as firm power.
TARGET POPULATION	A species or population singled out for attention because of its harvest significance or cultural value, or because it represents a significant group of ecological functions in a particular habitat type.
TAILRACE	The canal or channel that carries water away from the dam.
TERMINAL FISHERY	A fishery designed to increase harvest of abundant fish stocks and minimize effects on depleted stocks by focusing the fishery on locations where the abundant stocks are produced ? in net pens, for example ? and where the fish also return to spawn.
THERMAL POWER PLANT	A facility that uses heat to power an electric generator. The heat may be supplied by burning coal, oil, natural gas, biomass or other fuel, by nuclear fission, or by solar or geothermal sources.
TRANSBOUNDARY	Refers to U.S. and Canadian border..
TRANSPORTATION	Collecting migrating juvenile fish and transporting them around the dams using barges or trucks.
TRANSMISSION GRID	An interconnected system of electric transmission lines and associated equipment for the transfer of electric energy in bulk between points of supply and points of demand.
TRANSMISSION SYSTEM	The system of power lines used to transport electricity over long distances. In the Pacific Northwest, BPA operates a majority of the high-voltage power lines that carry electricity between points of supply and points of demand. The main BPA lines crossing the Cascades carry power at 500,000 volts. The transmission lines that move power from BPA's delivery point to PUD substations carry power at 115,000 volts.
TRIBES	Tribes in the NW that the Power Planning Council interacts with include: the Burns-Paiute Tribe; the Coeur d?Alene Tribes; the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation; the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation of Oregon; the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon; the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; the Kalispel Tribe of Indians; the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho; the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho; the Shoshone-Paiutes of the Duck Valley Reservation; the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation; and the Spokane Tribe of Indians.
TRIBUTARY	A stream that flows into another stream, river, or lake.
TURBIDITY	"The term ""turbid"" is applied to waters containing suspended matter that interferes with the passage of light through the water or in which visual depth is restricted."
TURBINE	Machinery that converts kinetic energy of a moving fluid, such as falling water, to mechanical or electrical power.
VOLT	The unit of measurement of electromotive force. It is equivalent to the force required to produce a current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm.
WATERFALL	A sudden, nearly vertical drop in a stream, as it flows over rock.
WATERSHED	The area that drains into a stream or river. A subbasin is typically composed of several watersheds.
WATT	A measure of the rate at which energy is produced, exchanged, or consumed.
WASHINGTON PUD ASSOCIATION	An organization that represents the interests of the Public Utility Districts in the state.
WATER BUDGET	A part of the Northwest Power Planning Council's Fish and Wildlife Program calling for a volume of water to be reserved and released during the spring, if needed, to assist in the downstream migration of juvenile salmon and steelhead.
WATER QUALITY	A term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its suitability for a particular purpose.
WATER RIGHTS	Priority claims to water. In western States, water rights are based on the principle "first in time, first in right," meaning older claims take precedence over newer ones.
WATT	An electric unit of power or a rate of doing work (see kilowatt and megawatt).
WEAK STOCK	A stock of fish where the long-term survival of the stock is in doubt. Typically this is a stock where the population is small and is barely reproducing itself or is not reproducing itself. While ESA-listed stocks are considered weak stocks, the term also includes other populations that would not yet qualify for ESA listing.
WETLANDS	Lands including swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as wet meadows, river overflows, mudflats, and natural ponds.
WHEELING	When a company transmits electricity over the power lines owned by another company. The owner of the power line usually collects a Wheeling Charge from the users.
WESTERN SYSTEMS COORDINATING COUNCIL (WSCC)	An organization that deals with issues related to power transmission interties between power systems in the western United States.
WILD POPULATIONS	Fish that have maintained successful natural reproduction with little or no supplementation from hatcheries.
WOODY DEBRIS (LARGE)	Pieces of wood larger than 10 feet long and 6 inches in diameter, in a stream channel.
ZOOPLANKTON	Small aquatic animals that are suspended or swimming in water.
Sources: Snohomish County P.U.D. The Columbia River System: The Inside Story A 1991 publication from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration Public Power Fundamentals, a 1995 publication from the Public Power Council Northwest Power Planning Council 2001 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Description StreamNet.org, 2001 Glossary of Terms Bureau of Reclamation, Glossary of Hydropower Terms