Glossary


Term
Acronym
Definition
Warrant Analysis

A process outlined by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which helps determine whether an intersection meets the criteria for the installation of a traffic signal or stop signs.

Water Pollution

The addition of pollutants to water in concentrations or in sufficient quantities to result in measurable degradation of water quality.

Water Resources Panel
WRP

The NRB Panel that oversees the development of water resources management and wetlands protection policies for Vermont through (1) the adoption of State water quality standards and rules regulating, for example, the use of public waters, lake levels, and development impacts on significant wetlands and their protective buffer zones and (2) rulemaking authority to designate and protect significant wetlands and to designate outstanding resource waters.

Watershed

An area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved material to a common outlet at some point along a stream channel.

Way To Go Week
W2GW

Vermont annual TDM program that encourages the population to commute non-SOV for one week in the month of May.

Waybill

A receipt evidencing contract and instructions for the transport of cargo. Otherwise known as a “Bill of Lading”.

Weigh-in-Motion Detectors
WIM

A device employed to capture specific truck-axle or gross vehicle weight as trucks travel over a sensor. Such information is useful in highway or bridge design, as well as truck size and weight enforcement.

Wellhead Protection Area
WPA

An area designated by the Vermont Department of Health to protect the quality of public water supplies.

Wetland

According to 24 VSA 4303 (32), a wetland is an area of the state that is inundated by surface or groundwater with a frequency sufficient to support vegetation or aquatic life that depend on saturated or seasonally saturated soil conditions for growth and reproduction. Such areas include marshes, swamps, sloughs, potholes, fens, river and lake overflows, mud flats, bogs, and ponds, but exclude such areas as grow food or crops in connection with farming activities.

Winooski Valley Park District
WVPD

The district that works to make the public waters of the Winooski River accessible for recreational activity by establishing a system of public parks along the Winooski River. See 24 VSA 4861.

Working Landscapes

Activities for gain that are based on natural resources (such as agriculture, silvaculture, and mining).

Wye

A railroad connector shaped like the alphanumeric character “Y”. A wye serves to assist in redirecting rail traffic or reverse direction of travel of a locomotive.