How many gallons are in one acre-foot of water?

One acre-foot of water is defined as the volume of water required to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot. This unit of measure is commonly used in water resource management, particularly for agricultural and irrigation purposes.

The correct answer, 326,000 gallons, is derived from the conversion factors for calculating the volume of water in an acre-foot. Specifically, one acre is equal to 43,560 square feet, and one foot of height corresponds to this area. When you calculate the volume in cubic feet, you find that one acre-foot equals 43,560 cubic feet. Since there are 7.48 gallons in one cubic foot, multiplying 43,560 cubic feet by 7.48 gallons per cubic foot results in approximately 326,000 gallons.

This knowledge is crucial for water operators, who often need to make water management decisions based on various volumetric calculations, including understanding how many gallons are available in a given acre-foot of water for effective planning and resource allocation.