How big would a million-gallon swimming pool be?
Water-Use Data for the Nation
The USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) compiles and publishes national water-use data every 5 years.
Water Use Information by Topic
Water Science School Home
If you look at our U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water-use data, you see it is presented in "million gallons per day" (Mgal/d). We will help you visualize how much a millions gallon is so you can better understand our water-use information.
• Water Science School HOME • Water Use topics •
A Million Gallons of Water -- How Much is it?
If you start browsing through USGS water-use information, you'll see water withdrawals and use are most often reported in "million gallons per day" (Mgal/d). You'll understand the data better if you can visualize how much a million gallons of water is. A good-sized bath holds 40 gallons, so a million gallons would be 25,000 baths. But, it might be easier to take a look at the pool and cube image.
If you were a swimming-pool builder and a customer asked you to build a pool that would hold a million-gallons, then they had better have a big yard! You would need to build a pool about 267 feet long (almost as long as a football field), 50 feet wide, and 10 feet deep. The cube on the right side shows you that 1 million gallons would form a cube that is 51.1 feet on each side.
Some helpful conversions:
- 1 Mgal/d = 1.547 cubic feet per second
- 1 Mgal/d = 694.4 gallons per minute
- 1 Mgal/d = 1.121 thousand acre-feet per year
- 1 million gallons = 3,785,412 liters
- 1 million gallons = 3.07 acre feet
How much do you think a million gallons (3,785,412 liters) of water weighs?
• At 8.34 pounds per gallon, a million gallons comes in at 8,340,000 pounds.
• At 1 kilogram per liter, 3,785,412 liters comes in at 3,785,412 kilograms.
Below are science topics related to water use.
Water Use Information by Topic
Freshwater Withdrawals in the United States
If you look at our U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water-use data, you see it is presented in "million gallons per day" (Mgal/d). We will help you visualize how much a millions gallon is so you can better understand our water-use information.
• Water Science School HOME • Water Use topics •
A Million Gallons of Water -- How Much is it?
If you start browsing through USGS water-use information, you'll see water withdrawals and use are most often reported in "million gallons per day" (Mgal/d). You'll understand the data better if you can visualize how much a million gallons of water is. A good-sized bath holds 40 gallons, so a million gallons would be 25,000 baths. But, it might be easier to take a look at the pool and cube image.
If you were a swimming-pool builder and a customer asked you to build a pool that would hold a million-gallons, then they had better have a big yard! You would need to build a pool about 267 feet long (almost as long as a football field), 50 feet wide, and 10 feet deep. The cube on the right side shows you that 1 million gallons would form a cube that is 51.1 feet on each side.
Some helpful conversions:
- 1 Mgal/d = 1.547 cubic feet per second
- 1 Mgal/d = 694.4 gallons per minute
- 1 Mgal/d = 1.121 thousand acre-feet per year
- 1 million gallons = 3,785,412 liters
- 1 million gallons = 3.07 acre feet
How much do you think a million gallons (3,785,412 liters) of water weighs?
• At 8.34 pounds per gallon, a million gallons comes in at 8,340,000 pounds.
• At 1 kilogram per liter, 3,785,412 liters comes in at 3,785,412 kilograms.
Below are science topics related to water use.