acre-foot

[ey-ker-foot]

noun

1. 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.

acre-foot

noun

1. the volume of water that would cover an area of 1 acre to a depth of 1 foot: equivalent to 43 560 cubic feet or 1233.5 cubic metres

Word History and Origins

Origin of acre-foot¹

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

Many farmers decided that the payments — $300 per acre-foot of water conserved — would pencil out for them this year, in part because hay prices have recently fallen.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The legislation increases fines for violations of state water curtailment to as much as $10,000 per day, plus $2,500 for each acre-foot of water diverted.

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State officials also compared the costs of additional supplies from the tunnel, at $1,325 per acre-foot, to the costs of additional supplies through investments in desalination, wastewater recycling, stormwater capture and conservation.

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An acre-foot is roughly enough to serve two to three U.S. households annually.

Read more on Seattle Times

An acre-foot serves about two to three U.S. households per year.

Read more on Seattle Times