A cleansing operation partly under water (5)

I believe the answer is:

awash

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'partly under water' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a cleansing' is the wordplay.
'cleansing' becomes 'wash' (wash is a kind of cleansing).
'a'+'wash'='AWASH'

'operation' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for awash that I've seen before include "Letting in the sea" , "not quite under" , "Level with the water surface" , "Covered by water - sounds cleansing" , "Deluged" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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