stream or portion of a stream that recharges groundwater through the stream bottom because its elevation is above the groundwater table. (Compare Effluent stream.)
In hydrologic terms, any watercourse in which all, or a portion of the surface water flows back into the ground namely the, vadose zone, or zone of aeration
One which flows above the water-table and contributes to it by natural leakage through the bed of the channel (sometimes termed a 'losing' stream; conversely a 'gaining' stream has its flow naturally augmented by inflow through the bed or banks).