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)
