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Your Online Water Encyclopedia

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Useful Acronyms

Overview February 13, 2014

Useful Acronyms

Everyone loves a good acronym. Unless, of course, you can’t figure out what they mean. This handy list will help. If you need help with their definitions, you can find some of them at our online water encyclopedia, Aquapedia.

  • ABAG - Association of Bay Area Governments
  • ACOE - Army Corps of Engineers (also COE)
  • AF - Acre Foot
  • ACWA – Association of California Water Agencies
  • ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers
  • BDCP - Bay Delta Conservation Plan
  • BOD – Biochemical Oxygen Demand
  • BOR – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • CDPH – California Department of Public Health
  • CEQA - California Environmental Quality Act
  • CIWQS - California Integrated Water Quality System
  • COD – Chemical Oxygen Demand
  • CWA - Clean Water Act
  • COE - Corps of Engineers
  • CVP – Central Valley Project
  • DACs - Disadvantaged Communities
  • DHS - Department of Health Services
  • DWR – Department of Water Resources
  • EA – Environmental Assessment
  • EIR – Environmental Impact Report
  • EIS - Environmental Impact Statement
  • ESA - Endangered Species Act
  • HCP - Habitat Conservation Plan
  • IBWC - International Boundary Water Commission
  • ICS – Intentionally Created Surplus
  • IRWM - Integrated Regional Water Management
  • IWP – Integrated Watershed Plan
  • IWRP - Integrated Water Resources Plan
  • JPA – Joint Powers Agreement / Authority
  • LID - Low Impact Development
  • MCL – Maximum Containment Level
  • mg/L – milligrams per liter
  • MGD – million gallons per day
  • MOU - Memorandum of Understanding
  • MSHCP – Multiple-Species Habitat Conservation Plan
  • MTBE - Methyl – tert – butyl ether
  • MWD - Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
  • Neg Dec or ND – Negative Declaration
  • NPDES – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
  • NTE – not-to-exceed
  • NTS - Natural Treatment System
  • O&M – Operations and Maintenance
  • OBMP – Optimum Basin Management Plan
  • OEHHA - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
  • PG&E – Pacific Gas and Electric
  • PPB – Parts Per Billion
  • PVC Pipe – Polyvinyl Chloride Pipe
  • QSA – Quantification Settlement Agreement
  • RCP - Reinforced Clay Pipe
  • RFI – Request for Information
  • RFP - Request for Proposals
  • RO - Reverse osmosis
  • ROW – Right-of-way
  • RWQCB – Regional Water Quality Control Board
  • SAWPA - Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
  • SCAG – Southern California Association of Governments
  • SCE – Southern California Edison
  • SCIWP – Southern California Integrated Watershed Program
  • SDWA - Safe Drinking Water Act
  • SOP – standard operating procedure
  • SRF - State Revolving Fund
  • SSO – Sanitary sewer overflow
  • SWP – State Water Project
  • SWRCB – State Water Resources Control Board
  • TCE – Trichloroethylene
  • TDS - total dissolved solids
  • TIN - Nitrogen
  • TIN/TDS – Nitrogen and TDS
  • TMDL – Total Maximum Daily Load
  • TOC – total organic carbon
  • TP – treatment plant
  • TSS – total suspended solids
  • TTOs - Total Toxic Organics
  • USEPA – United States Environmental Protection Agency (also EPA)
  • USF&WS – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • USGS – U.S. Geological Survey
  • VCP – Vitrified Clay Pipe
  • VE – Value Engineering
  • VFD – Variable Frequency Drive
  • VOC – Volatile Organic Compounds
  • VSS - Volatile Suspended Solids
  • WDRs - Waste discharge requirements
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