A lot of water is found in these areas (3)
I believe the answer is:
sea
'a lot of water' is the definition.
(a large amount of water)
'in these areas' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'SEA' is hidden in the letters of 'these areas'.
'is found' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for sea that I've seen before include "Great expanse of water" , "The Med, e.g." , "E.g Aral or Weddell" , "All at . . . - totally confused" , "E.g. Baltic" .)