From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwaterswaters[plural] a large area of water, especially an ocean that is near or belongs to a particular country the coastal waters of AlaskaKorean/Mexican/Pacific etc waters The ship drifted into Turkish territorial waters. a species found in inland waters (=not the sea, but rivers, lakes etc) → water
Examples from the Corpus
inland waters• On both spring and autumn passage the species frequently appears at inland waters as well as right along the coast.• The ratio is 8-1 for canoeing in inland waters and 6-1 for canoeing on rivers.• Crested wavelets form on inland waters.• On passage birds are seen on inland waters, particularly the reservoirs, as often as on the coast.• Meanwhile his passion for sailing was developing by cruising and sailing on the inland waters of the Thames. 