425CONTACT TIME, pH and LOW TURBIDITY: Factors which are important in providing good
disinfection using chlorine. If the water temperature decreases from 70°F (21°C) to 40°F (4°C).
The operator needs to increase the detention time to maintain good disinfection of the water.
CONTAINS THE ELEMENT CARBON: A simple definition of an organic compound.
CONTAMINANT: Any natural or man-made physical, chemical, biological, or radiological
substance or matter in water, which is at a level that may have an adverse effect on public health,
and which is known or anticipated to occur in public water systems.
CONTAMINATE: 1. To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture. 2. To expose to or
permeate with radioactivity.
CONTAMINATION: A degradation in the quality of groundwater in result of the it’s becoming
polluted with unnatural or previously non-existent constituents.
CONTROL TASTE AND ODOR PROBLEMS: KMnO4 Potassium permanganate is a strong
oxidizer commonly used to control taste and odor problems.
Conventional: A standard or common procedure to a group of more complex methods. (ex –
Direct Rotary conventional vs. Reverse non-conventional)
COPPER: The chemical name for the symbol Cu.
CORROSION: The removal of metal from copper, other metal surfaces and concrete surfaces in
a destructive manner. Corrosion is caused by improperly balanced water or excessive water
velocity through piping or heat exchangers.
CORROSIVITY: The Langelier Index measures corrosivity.
COUPON: A coupon placed to measure corrosion damage in the water mains.
COVALENT BOND: Chemical bond that involves sharing electrons.
CROSS-CONNECTION: A physical connection between a public water system and any source of
water or other substance that may lead to contamination of the water provided by the public water
system through backflow. Might be the source of an organic substance causing taste and odor
problems in a water distribution system.
CROSS-CONTAMINATION: The mixing of two unlike qualities of water. For example, the mixing
of good water with a polluting substance like a chemical.
CRYPTOSPORIDIUM: A disease-causing parasite, resistant to chlorine disinfection. It may be
found in fecal matter or contaminated drinking water. Cryptosporidium is a protozoan pathogen of
the Phylum Apicomplexa and causes a diarrheal illness called cryptosporidiosis. Other
apicomplexan pathogens include the malaria parasite Plasmodium, and Toxoplasma, the
causative agent of toxoplasmosis. Unlike Plasmodium, which transmits via a mosquito vector,
Cryptosporidium does not utilize an insect vector and is capable of completing its life cycle within
a single host, resulting in cyst stages which are excreted in feces and are capable of transmission
to a new host.
CRYSTAL: A solid that is packed with ions, molecules or atoms in an orderly fashion.
CUVETTE: Glassware used in spectroscopic experiments. It is usually made of plastic, glass or
quartz and should be as clean and clear as possible.
CYANOBACTERIA: Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or
Cyanophyta, is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. The name
"cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: kyanós = blue). They are a
significant component of the marine nitrogen cycle and an important primary producer in many
areas of the ocean, but are also found on land.
CYANURIC ACID: White, crystalline, water-soluble solid, C3H3O3N3ꞏ2H2O, used chiefly in
organic synthesis. Chemical used to prevent the decomposition of chlorine by ultraviolet (UV)
light.
D
DAILY MAXIMUM LIMITATIONS: The maximum allowable discharge of pollutants during a 24
hour period. Where daily maximum limitations are expressed in units of mass, the daily discharge
is the total mass discharged over the course of the day. Where daily maximum limitations are
expressed in terms of a concentration, the daily discharge is the arithmetic average measurement
of the pollutant concentration derived from all measurements taken that day.
DANGEROUS CHEMICALS: The most suitable protection when working with a chemical that
produces dangerous fumes is to work under an air hood or fume hood.