Glossary:C Words

causeway ( cause·way / ˈkôzˌwā ) noun

a raised road or track across low or wet ground.

centralized wastewater treatment system noun

A managed system consisting of collection sewers and a single treatment plant used to collect and treat wastewater from an entire service area. Traditionally, such a system has been called a publicly owned treatment works

channel ( chan·nel / ˈCHanl ) noun

a dredged passageway within a coastal bay that allows maritime navigation.

chlorophyll ( chlo·ro·phyll / ˈklôrəˌfil ) noun

a green pigment found in algae, plants and other organisms that carry on photosynthesis; enables plants to absorb energy from light.

Citizen Oversight Committee(COC)

The Citizen Oversight Committee (COC) oversees the Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) program in Brevard County.

Clean Water Act(CWA)

The Clean Water Act is a 1977 amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, which set the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants to waters of the United States.

coast ( kōst ) noun

General region of indefinite width that extends from the sea inland to the first major change in terrain features

coastal zone noun

coastal waters and adjacent shorelands including islands, inter-tidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and beaches.

coliform bacteria noun

A group of bacteria predominantly inhabiting the intestines of humans or other warm-blooded animals, but also occasionally found elsewhere. Used as an indicator of human fecal contamination.

commercial fishing noun

fishing for a commercial purpose, i.e. to sell the catch

Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan(CCMP)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) identifies a region's priority environmental issues and the actions needed to solve them.

condensation ( con·den·sa·tion / känˌdenˈsāSH(ə)n ) noun

the process in which water vapor changes into liquid water (such as dew, fog, or cloud droplets).

conservation ( con·ser·va·tion / ˌkänsərˈvāSH(ə)n ) noun

careful preservation and protection of ecological processes and biodiversity of the environment.

contamination ( con·tam·i·na·tion / kənˌtaməˈnāSH(ə)n ) noun

an undesirable element, impure or unclean, something that is not supposed to be there (such as oil or insecticides in water).

cove ( kōv ) noun

A small, narrow sheltered bay or recess in an estuary, often inside a larger embayment

craft ( kraft ) noun

Craft are any vessel or conveyance that operate in a fluid medium or a vacuum. Thus, boats are craft; aircraft are craft; and spaceships, spacecraft, and space capsules are craft. When applied to vessels or conveyances that float on the water, a craft is any boat or ship of any size or type and of any use.

crustacean ( crus·ta·cean / krəˈstāSH(ə)n ) noun

anthropods having hard-shelled bodies and jointed ligaments such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters.

current ( cur·rent / ˈkərənt ) noun

large-scale circulation of water caused by thermodynamics and winds.