Acre-foot

Acre-foot

An acre-foot is a unit of volume commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, and river flows.

Definition

It is defined by the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot.Since the area of one acre is defined as 66 by 660 feet (a chain by a furlong) then the volume of an acre-foot is exactly 43,560 cubic feet.Alternatively, this is approximately 325,851.4 U.S. gallons or 1,233.5 kL (or m³).

Discussion

As a rule of thumb in U.S. water management, one acre-foot is taken to be the planned water usage of a suburban family household, annually. [ The state of Montana assumes 1.0 acre-foot per year for a family of five. See cite web
url = http://dnrc.mt.gov/wrd/water_rts/wr_general_info/wrforms/627.pdf
title = Form No. 627 R8/03 Notice of Water Right
format = PDF
author = Water Rights Bureau, state of Montana
date = April 132004
accessdate = 2008-01-30 ] In the desert South West, where water conservation is followed and often enforced, a typical family uses only about 0.25 acre-feet of water per year. [ Santa Fe, New Mexico rate averages 0.25 acre-feet per year per household. See cite web
url = http://www.santafenm.gov/DocumentView.asp?DID=1427
title = Water Use in Santa Fe: A survey of residential and commercial water use in the Santa Fe urban area
format = PDF
author = Planning Division, Planning & Land Use Department, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
month = February | year = 2001
accessdate = 2008-01-30 ]

The acre-foot (or more specifically the time rate unit of acre-foot per year) has been used historically in the U.S. in many water-management agreements, for example the Colorado River Compact, which divides 15 million acre-feet per year (586 m³/s) among seven western U.S. states.

ee also

* Cubic metres per second
* Cubic feet per second

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • acre-foot — ☆ acre foot [ā′kər foot΄ ] n. the quantity of irrigation water (43,560 cubic feet) that would cover one acre to a depth of one foot …   English World dictionary

  • Acre foot — Einheit Norm Angloamerikanisches Maßsystem Einheitenname acre foot Einheitenzeichen acre − foot Dimensionsname Volumen Dimensionssymbol …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Acre-foot — Einheit Norm Angloamerikanisches Maßsystem Einheitenname acre foot Einheitenzeichen acre − foot Dimensionsname Volumen Dimensionssymbol …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • acre foot — (ac ft or af)    a unit of volume used to measure the capacity of reservoirs. One acre foot is a volume one foot deep covering an area of one acre. Thus an acre foot contains exactly 43 560 cubic feet, about 325 851.4 U.S. gallons, or about… …   Dictionary of units of measurement

  • acre-foot — noun (plural acre feet) a unit of volume equal to the volume of a sheet of water one acre (0.405 hectare) in area and one foot (30.48 cm) in depth; 43,560 cubic feet (1233.5 cubic metres) …   English new terms dictionary

  • acre-foot — /ay keuhr foot /, n. a unit of volume of water in irrigation: the amount covering one acre to a depth of one foot, equal to 43,560 cubic feet. [1900 05, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • acre-foot — a′cre foot′ n. wam a unit of volume of water in irrigation: the amount covering one acre to a depth of one foot, equal to 43,560 cubic feet (1233 cubic meters) • Etymology: 1900–05, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • acre-foot — /ˌeɪkə ˈfʊt/ (say .aykuh foot) noun a unit of volume of water in irrigation in the imperial system, being the amount covering one acre to a depth of one foot equal to 43 560 cubic feet or 1233.48183754752 m3. Symbol: ac.ft …  

  • acre-foot — noun Date: 1900 the volume (as of irrigation water) that would cover one acre to a depth of one foot …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • acre-foot — one acre of surface covered with 1 foot of water (1,233,500 L, 1233.5 m3, 325,851 gal.). Used to measure volumes of water used or stored, such as in reservoirs. Abbreviated as ac ft or af in the U.S.A …   Dictionary of ichthyology

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