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Water Glossary - L
Laboratory water: Purified water used in the laboratory as a basis for making up solutions or making dilutions. Water devoid of interfering substances.
Lag time: The time from the center of a unit storm to the peak discharge or center of volume of the corresponding unit hydrograph.
Lagoon: (1) A shallow pond where sunlight, bacterial action, and oxygen work to purify wastewater. (2) A shallow body of water, often separated from the sea by coral reefs or sandbars.
Lake: Any inland body of standing water, usually fresh water, larger than a pool or pond; a body of water filling a depression in the earth's surface.
Laminar flow: A flow in which rapid fluctuations are absent.
Land Application: Discharge of wastewater onto the ground for treatment or reuse.
Landscape impoundment: Body of reclaimed water which is used for aesthetic enjoyment or which otherwise serves a function not intended to include contact recreation.
Landscape irrigation: Water conservation through landscaping that uses plants that need little water, thereby saving labor and fertilizer as well as water.
Langelier Index (LI): An index reflecting the equilibrium pH of a water with respect to calcium and alkalinity; used in stabilizing water to control both corrosion and scale deposition.
Large water system: A water system that services more than 50,000 customers.
Leachate: Water containing contaminants which leaks from a disposal site such as a landfill or dump.
Leaching: The removal of soluble organic and inorganic substances from the topsoil downward by the action of percolating water.
Leak detection: Systematic method of using listening equipment to survey the distribution system, identify leak sounds, and pinpoint the exact locations of hidden underground leaks.
Leakage: A species of ions in the feed of an ion exchanger present in the effluent.
Lentic system: A nonflowing or standing body of fresh water, such as a lake or pond. Compare lotic system.
Levee: A natural or man-made earthen obstruction along the edge of a stream, lake, or river. Usually used to restrain the flow of water out of a river bank.
Light absorption: The amount of light a certain amount of water can absorb over time.
Lime: Common water treatment chemical. Lime can be deposed on walls of showers and bathrooms, after lime has reacted with calcium to form limestone.
Limestone: Rock that consists mainly of calcium carbonate and is chiefly formed by accumulation of organic remains.
Limiting factor: Factor such as temperature, light, water, or a chemical that limits the existence, growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism.
Limnology: Scientific study of physical, chemical, and biological conditions in lakes, ponds, and streams.
Liquid: A state of matter, neither gas nor solid, that flows and takes the shape of its container.
Liter: The basic unit of measurement for volume in the metric system; equal to 61.025 cubic inches or 1.0567 liquid quarts.
Liter per minute (Lpm): unit of flow.
Littoral zone: Area on or near the shore of a body of water.
Livestock water use: Water for livestock watering, feed lots, dairy operations, fish farming, and other on-farm needs. Livestock as used here includes cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry. Also included are animal specialties. See also rural water use and animal specialties water use.
Lotic system: A flowing body of fresh water, such as a river or stream. Compare lentic system.
Low-flow plumbing: Plumbing equipment that uses less water than was considered standard prior to January 1, 1994.
Low-flow showerhead: A showerhead that requires 2.5 gallons of water per minute or less, as compared to the 4.5 gallons of water required by most older standard showerheads.
Low-flush toilet: A toilet that requires 1.6 gallons of water per flush or less, as compared to the 3.5-5 gallons of water required to flush most older standard toilets.
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