An aquatic plant large enough to be readily visible to the naked eye. Its roots and differentiated tissues may be emergent (reeds, cattails, bulrushes, wild rice), submergent (water milfoil, bladderwort) or floating (duckweed, lily pads).

Reservoirs are man-made water-bodies, usually formed by constructing a dam across a flowing river.

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is a concept that seeks to deliberately increase the amount of water stored in an aquifer, which is then recovered by pumping. MAR comprises a large number of injection-recovery techniques. By storing water underground, loss of water to evaporation can be drastically reduced and the water savings returned to other users such as the environment, towns or irrigators. MAR offers several advantages when compared with the more traditional use of surface water reservoirs, the total volume of water that could be stored in aquifers worldwide is several orders of magnitude greater than that available in surface dams. MAR is often used as a synonym for “artificial groundwater recharge” (including recharge [2022-from the surface] and from [2023-below the surface]) despite the fact that it is not an artificial recharge of aquifers but a well controlled measure to replenish depleted and over-exploited aquifers.

A manhole is the top opening to a sewer system. A person can enter it to maintain the sewer. If it is not in use, it is covered with a cap to avoid injuries.

A MAPET (Manual Pit Emptying Technology) system comprises a hand-pump connected to a vacuum tank mounted on a pushcart. A hose connected to the tank is used to suck sludge from a pit. When the hand pump is turned, air is sucked out of the vacuum tank and sludge is sucked up into the tank. Depending on sludge consistency, MAPET can pump the sludge from a maximal depth of 3 m.

Marginal cost represents the change in total cost that arises when the quantity produced is changed by one unit. In short, it is the cost of one additional unit of a good. The marginal cost may vary with volume or with each level of production.

The concept of market based development approach emphasizes on recognizing economic growth and increased access to (basic) services as means to reduce poverty. Hence the poor are perceived as actors within a market system, able to participate and act as producers, consumers and suppliers.

The ability to create, and correctly interpret, information around market research, past trends in sales, and likely competitive reactions.

A type of incinerator in which solid waste is burned without prior sorting or processing.

MCL's were defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States and refer to the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLG's are used as benchmarks for MCL's taking into account best available treatment technology and costs.

MCLG's were defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States and refer to the level of a contaminant in drinking water up to which no health risks are known or expected. MCLG's are non-enforceable public health goals that allow for a minimum safety margin.

Non-consumptive water uses where the kinetic energy of flowing water is used to drive machinery to do work such as grinding, milling, water pumping, water lifting, natural resource extraction, and small-scale manufacturing. There are numerous technologies that can be employed for mechanical water use.

Mechanised pumps (as opposed to human powered water pumps) are water-lifting devices, which may be driven by various power sources: electricity, fuels, animals, wind power, solar power, and gravity.

Metropolitan area with more than 10 million inhabitants.

A pliable, sheet-like structure acting as a boundary, lining, or partition. Can be used for filtration. Depending on the pore size, different qualities of filtration can be reached.

Membrane bioreactors combine conventional biological treatment (e.g. activated sludge) processes with membrane filtration to provide an advanced level of organic and suspended solids removal.

Menstruation is the natural part of the reproductive cycle in which blood from the uterus exits through the vagina. It is a completely normal process and not an illness. Menstruation is also called a girls/woman’s “period”. It usually lasts between three and seven days. Menstruation happens for most women about once a month. It is a sign that a girl can now become pregnant. Just as some girls begin puberty earlier or later than others, the same applies to periods. Some girls may begin to menstruate as early as age nine or 10, and some may not get their first period until a few years later. Menstruation usually stops in the forties, known as the menopause. Bleeding from the vagina is the primary sign of menstruation. Some girls have other symptoms around the time of menstruation, including cramping, bloating, and sore breasts, food cravings, mood swings and irritability, headache and fatigue.

Menstruation Hygiene
Management (MHM) focuses on practical strategies for coping with monthly periods.
MHM refers to ways women keep clean and healthy during menstruation and how they acquire, use and dispose of blood-absorbing materials.

A mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold (typically between 15 and 40 °C). The term is mainly applied to microorganisms. It is also used to describe mesophilic anaerobic digestion, which takes place optimally around 37 to 41 °C or at ambient temperatures between 20 to 45 °C, where mesophiles are the primary microorganisms present.

Mesophilic composting (in opposition to thermophilic composting) is an aerobic microorganism-driven decomposition of organic matter at low temperatures (the mesophilic range). Mesophilic bacteria thrive from 20 to 30 degrees celsius, but just survive at temperatures above 40). In many backyard compost piles, these mid range bacteria do most of the work. However, if conditions are right they produce enough heat to activate the thermophilic bacteria (see also thermophilic composting).

A colourless, odourless, flammable, gaseous hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH4. Methane is present in natural gas and is the main component (50-75%) of biogas that is formed by the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter.

Methanogenesis is the fourth and final step of anaerobic digestion. Methanogenic bacteria (methanogens), which are strictly anaerobic, transform the acetic acid (acetate), carbon dioxide and hydrogen into a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide (biogas)

Methylene blue active substances. Indicate the presence of detergents (anionic surfactants) in a sample (in mg/l). When methylene blue dye reacts with synthetic anionic detergent compounds, the solution of this substance will turn blue. In wastewater, LAS amounts to about 75% of the MBAS.

Micro basins are small rainwater catchment pools surrounded on all sides by stonewalls or earth ridges. This allows storing rainwater and using it for small-scale tree and bush planting, enabling increased growth of plants if there is moisture deficit.

Micro-Enterprises are self-employed women and men, and enterprises with fewer than 10 employees.

Microcatchments are contoured areas concentrating and infiltrating rainwater. Therefore, more water is protected from evaporation and available for plants.

A kind of low-pressure membrane filtration process in which contaminants are removed from a fluid (liquid & gas) by passage through a microporous membrane (typically with a pore size of 0.1 to 10 micrometres).

Microfinance is a type of banking service that is provided to low-income or self-employed individuals, or groups who otherwise have no other access to financial services. The goal of microfinance is to provide people without access to formalized banking systems opportunities to save and borrow money. There is a variety of different products and options for customers with limited resources to purchase specific products or to promote participation in productive activities or to support a small business.

Single vendor, agents or distributors that are overseen by a regional manager.

Metric unit for linear dimensions. One micron or micrometer corresponds to 0.000001 m or 1x10^-6 m.

Any cellular or non-cellular microbiological entity capable of replication or of transferring genetic material (e.g., bacteria, viruses, protozoa, algae or fungi).

Pollutant that despite their extremely low concentration have an significant effect (e.g., trace organic compounds) Pharmaceuticals and hormones are two groups of micropollutants which are causing increasing concern for their effects on the endocrine system and sexual development of aquatic animals.

The term Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region describes a loosely defined, transcontinental region that stretches around the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco to Iran. While there is no common definition of the region, the World Bank draws the boundaries around the following states and territories: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Gaza and Yemen.

MPA

The "Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response" reflect the "determination of agencies (involved in emergency responses) to improve, both the effectiveness of their assistance and their accountability to their stakeholders” (THE SPHERE PROJECT 2011). Since their creation in the 90’s, the Sphere Standards have “today been applied as the de facto standards in humanitarian response in the 21st century” (THE SPHERE PROJECT 2011). The third edition was published in 2011.

Ministry of Energy and Water Development

Ministry of Legal Government and Housing

Ministry of Urban Development of India

As the name suggests, mission drift occurs when an organisation's activities move away from the mission it was set out to achieve. Mission drift can lead to undesired outcomes and can even have a negative impact on those who were supposed to benefit from the organisation's activities. It can happen as a result of several factors which are often interlinked. There are however mitigation strategies to lower the risk of it happening. 

Mixed liquor is a mixture of raw or settled wastewater and activated sludge contained in an aeration basin in the activated sludge process. Mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) is the concentration of suspended solids in mixed liquor, usually expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/l).

A relatively small type of prefabricated solid waste combustion unit.

Moisture control in SSWM refers to the use of adapted methods of agriculture and forestry in order to minimise the loss of water from the soil.

MCFCs are high-temperature fuel cells that use electrolytes composed of a molten carbonate salt mixture suspended in a porous, chemically inert ceramic matrix of beta-alumina solid electrolyte.

Monitoring describes the immediate and systematic logging, observation and controlling of a process by the mean of technical appliance. Monitoring is a repetitive and continuous process in order to analyse the evaluation of the process and draw conclusions. The aim of monitoring is to intervene into the process in order to optimise performance and to make sure that it takes the wanted course.

Monitoring describes the immediate and systematic logging, observation and controlling of a process by the mean of technical appliance. Monitoring is a repetitive and continuous process in order to analyse the evaluation of the process and draw conclusions. The aim of monitoring is to intervene into the process in order to optimise performance and to make sure that it takes the wanted course.

Evaluation refers to an analysis using a set of criteria to determine their significance. Shortcomings in this evaluation lead the way to make improvements, correct for errors, etc.

Most Probable Number is a method to estimate the amount of microorganisms in a sample.

Converts electric energy to mechanical energy.

Motorized emptying and transport refers to a vehicle equipped with a motorized pump and a storage tank for emptying and transporting faecal sludge and urine. Humans are required to operate the pump and manoeuvre the hose, but sludge is not manually lifted or transported.

The term ‘motorised pumps’ is mainly associated with diesel- and electro pumps for water lifting.

Biological wastewater treatment reactors where the biomass responsible for degradation is kept in suspensions either via an up-flow wastewater regime (in the case of anaerobic reactors for digestion) or by up-flow aeration system (in the case of aerobic oxidation).

A material (such as decaying leaves, bark, or compost) spread around or over a plant to enrich the soil and to maintain moisture.

A MIRA is an inter-agency needs assessment and analysis process, from which a joint strategic plan for emergency response is developed by the humanitarian country team

Wastewater reuse relies on the principle that different water uses have different water quality requirements, and that wastewater is often of high enough quality for certain reuse purposes. This can include direct reuse of rainwater, greywater, or process water in industries, or of organic waste for energy or nutrients. It can also include wastewater that must be treated prior to reuse, such as blackwater, yellow water, or brownwater. Reusing wastewater can reduce water consumption as well as make use of valuable resources (nutrients, energy) contained in wastewater.

Municipal solid waste is all kind of waste generated by households (domestic wastes) and commercial establishments. The collection and safe treatment of municipal solid waste is a key factor of sanitation and improved health of citizens. In general the management of municipal solid waste includes its collection by the municipality or another governmental body and its appropriate treatment or reuse.

Municipal wastewater generally refers to the wastewater collected in sewer systems, including domestic wastewater (black- and greywater from households) as well as effluents from institutions, businesses and industries.