Helpful Measurement terms and equivalents
The water industry, like most industries, utilizes a number of acronyms and terms unknown to the general public. Below are definitions of the terms you will commonly hear in the industry.
Water equivalents1 cubic foot = 7.48 gallons = 62.4 pounds of water
1 a/ft=43,560 cubic feet = 325,851 gallons
1 cfs = 450 gallons per minute
1 million gallons = 3.07 acre-feet
1 MGD = 1,122 a/ft per year (enough to supply approximately 2,800 SFE’s water for an entire year)
Water running at the rate of 1cfs for 24 hours = 646,360 gallons per day, which would be 59.5 a/ft per month and 724 a/ft per year. This is roughly the amount of water that 1,800 sq. ft single family homes use each year.