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Dam
Structure built to hold back a flow of water
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Delta
Fan-shaped area at the mouth of a river formed by deposition of sediments
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Demand management
Measures taken to predict and meet consumer demand for environmentally sensitive goods such as water, e.g. through activities that alter water use
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Depletion
The loss of water from surface water reservoirs or groundwater aquifers due to usage at a greater rate than they are recharged
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Deposition
The gradual dropping or laying down of matter by a natural process, or getting rid of sediments as performed by an agent of erosion, such as a river or glacier; also called sedimentation
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Desalination
The process of removing salt from seawater or brackish water
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Desertification
Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities
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Developed water
Water that is produced or brought into a water system through the efforts of people (where it would not have entered the water system on its own accord)
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Disbursement
The action of paying out money
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Discharge
The amount of water flowing past a location in a river or stream in a certain amount of time; usually expressed in volumes (liters per second or gallons per minute)
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Drainage basin
All the land that serves as the drainage area of a specific stream or river; See Basin
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Drip irrigation
Common method of irrigation, in which water trickles slowly through pipes or tubes onto crops. Drip irrigation is a low-pressure method of irrigation with the advantage that less water is lost to evaporation than with high-pressure spray
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Drought
The naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource production systems