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farm dam
Small water storage, usually managed by the landowner with a capacity usually less than 100 ML. The volume includes dead storage.
Related: runoff dam
A part of the physical environment with properties that can be observed; these include natural features such as rivers, aquifers and the atmosphere, and human defined or constructed features such as channels, irrigation districts and urban supply areas.
Homogeneous collections of common features, each having the same spatial representation, such as points, lines, or polygons, and a common set of attribute columns, for example, a line feature class for representing road centrelines. The four most commonly used feature classes in the geodatabase are points, lines, polygons, and annotation (the geodatabase name for map text).
Source: ArcGIS 9.2 Desktop Help
ferrosols
Soils with high free iron and clay contents. They occur along the eastern coastline, in northern parts of Western Australia and the Top End.
Source: R F Isbell, 1996, The Australian Soil Classification, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
ferruginous
Containing iron and typically having reddish-brown colour.
A period used for reporting of annual financial statements in Government and other organisations. In Australia this usually refers to the 12 months starting 1 July and ending on 30 June.
first quartile
The first quartile of a set of numbers is the value in which 25% of the numbers are below it and 75% of the numbers are above it when the numbers are arranged in ascending (increasing) order.
Synonym: 25% quartile
flash flooding
Flooding occurring within about six hours of rain, usually the result of intense local rain and characterised by rapid rises in water-levels.
Glossary for Water forecasts: Flood warning services
flood threat advice
An advice of the potential occurrence of flooding inferred from forecast meteorological considerations and an assessment of catchment wetness. The issuing of a flood watch is meant to indicate that vigilance to potential flooding is required of the community.
local flooding
minor flooding
moderate flooding
major flooding
Synonym: flood watch
Synonym: flood threat advice
Flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences occasional or periodic flooding.
Related: alluvial plain
The flow of water in streams, rivers and other channels.
Synonym: streamflow
Land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation. It includes closed forest, open forest and woodland.
foundation input data
Input data such as AusHydro, ANUDEM streams and the National Catchment Boundaries used to build the Geofabric.
AusHydro
ANUDEM Streams
national catchment boundaries
fractured rock
Hard, impermeable rock containing fractures and fissures that are able to store and transmit water.
full scale deflection
The full range of observations which can be recorded by an instrument.
Full Supply Level
FTP is a network protocol used to transfer data from one computer to another through a network, such as over the Internet.
See also File Transfer Protocol (FTP) details and data file content and naming conventions.
The normal maximum operating water level of a water storage when not affected by floods. This water level corresponds to 100% capacity. See the water storage diagram for more information.
Related: capacity
Glossary for Water status: Water Storage
future commitment
An expected future demand on water influenced by the availability and management of the region's water resources. It may arise as a result of an externally imposed requirement or best practice for managing water resources.
future water commitment
An expected future demand for water influenced by the availability and management of the water assets and water liabilities of the water report entity. It may arise as a result of an externally imposed requirement or best practices for managing water resources.