Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 26 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT › Part 3 - SUBTITLES 13-18 › Subtitle 17 - WATER MANAGEMENT › Chapter 26.17.06 - Water Appropriation or Use › Section 26.17.06.01 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				  the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Agricultural purposes" means
				  appropriation or use of water for the production, harvesting, or processing of
				  crops, vegetation, or animals for human or animal consumption or use, including
				  horticultural operations and land-based aquaculture.
(2) "Appropriation" means an intentional
				  withdrawal, movement, or diversion of water for use from its source of natural
				  occurrence which is caused by human activity.
(3) "Aquaculture" means the regulation and
				  cultivation of water plants and animals for human use or consumption.
(4) "Aquifer" means a water-bearing geologic
				  formation which is capable of causing water to flow into a well.
(5) "Beneficial appropriation or use" means a
				  direct use of water which is:
(a) Necessary to
				  a permit applicant;
(b)
				  Nonwasteful;
(c) Reasonably
				  nondamaging to the resource and other users; and
(d) In the best interest of the
				  public.
(6) "Confined
				  aquifer" means an aquifer under pressure from a relatively impervious layer of
				  material lying above the aquifer.
(7) "Consumptive water use" means that part
				  of water withdrawn from a source which, due to evaporation, interbasin
				  diversions, or other causes, is not returned to the source to be available for
				  subsequent use.
(8) "Department"
				  means the Department of the Environment.
(9) "Domestic use" means the noncommercial
				  appropriation or use of water by individuals for residential sanitation and
				  drinking purposes.
(10) "Emergency
				  condition" means a situation when lack of water poses an immediate danger to
				  the health and welfare of people or animals.
(11) "Fall line" means the imaginary line
				  separating the coastal plain sediments on the east from the older hardened rock
				  on the west.
(12) "Ground water"
				  means water that naturally lies, percolates, or flows through aquifers under
				  the surface of the earth.
(13)
				  "Lake" means a reasonably permanent body of water substantially at rest which
				  is part of a watercourse or the result of a structure placed in a
				  watercourse.
(14) "Low flow
				  augmentation" means provision of water through development of new water storage
				  facilities or the purchase of storage space in existing water storage
				  facilities equal to the amount of consumptive use from a water
				  source.
(15) "Permit" means either
				  a:
(a) Ground water appropriation or use
				  permit; or
(b) Surface water
				  appropriation or use permit.
(16) Person.
(a) "Person" means an individual,
				  partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corporation, association, joint
				  stock company, trust estate, governmental entity, or any other legal entity, or
				  their legal representatives, agents, or assigns.
(b) "Person" includes all federal, State, and
				  local governmental entities.
(17) "Potentiometric surface" means a level
				  to which water will rise in a tightly cased well drilled into a confined
				  aquifer.
(18) Public Water System.
(a) "Public water system" means a system that
				  provides to the public water for human consumption through pipes or other
				  constructed conveyances and:
(i) Has at least
				  15 service connections; or
(ii)
				  Regularly serves at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the
				  year.
(b) "Public water
				  system" includes:
(i) Any collection,
				  treatment, storage, or distribution facility that is under the control of the
				  operator of the system and is used primarily in connection with the system; and
(ii) Any collection or
				  pretreatment storage facility that is not under the control of the operator of
				  the system and is used primarily in connection with the system
(19) "Riparian land"
				  means land bordering on a watercourse or lake.
(20) "Surface water" means water from rain,
				  melting snow, springs, or seepage that lies or flows on the surface of the
				  earth, including a watercourse, lake, or tidewater.
(21) "Sustained yield" means the availability
				  of water from an aquifer managed so that total withdrawals do not exceed
				  natural recharge, thus enabling the aquifer to function as an aquifer in
				  perpetuity.
(22) "Underground
				  water" means ground water.
(23)
				  "Use of water" means a direct use of ground or surface water by withdrawal,
				  diversion, or impoundment.
(24)
				  "Water audit" means an examination of water use that traces the flow of water
				  from the site of water withdrawal through the distribution system and final use
				  of the water, and details the variety of consumption and losses that exist from
				  withdrawal through final use.
(25)
				  "Water conservation" means the use of practices, techniques, and technologies
				  that:
(a) Reduce the consumption, loss, or
				  waste of water;
(b) Improve
				  efficiency in the use of water; or
(c) Make more efficient use of water
				  treatment infrastructure.
(26) "Water supply capacity management plan"
				  means a plan that analyzes available water supply capacity and establishes a
				  system to track water allocation commitments
(27) "Watercourse" means a stream of water of
				  natural origin, flowing constantly or intermittently on the surface of the
				  earth in a relatively definite natural channel, including springs, lakes, or
				  marshes in which a stream originates or through which it flows.
(28) "Water management strategy area" means
				  an area designated by the Department in which a specific water resource problem
				  has been identified and for which the Department has adopted specific water use
				  restrictions or criteria for permit approval in order to protect the water
				  resource or existing water users.
(29) "Water table" means the water-saturated
				  zone which is:
(a) First encountered when
				  drilling into the earth's surface; and
(b) Not a confined aquifer.