What Is an Acre Foot of Water? (325,851 Gallons, and Every Conversion That Matters)
One acre footAcre foot (AF)The standard unit of western water: 325,851 gallons, the volume covering one acre of land one foot deep. Equal to 43,560 cubic feet or about 7,758 oilfield barrels. is 325,851 gallons of water: the volume that covers one acre of land one foot deep. It is the unit the entire western water economy prices in, and every lease, decree, and index quote you will ever read uses it.
The conversions below are the working math of water deals, worth bookmarking because counterparties who think in barrels or millions of gallons are often hoping you do not convert quickly.
Bracket what your water is actually worth
Two questions, then a read on where your water sits between the bank floor and premium demand.
What demand exists near your water?
The buyer type is the biggest lever on price.
How many gallons are in an acre foot?
One acre foot equals 325,851 gallons, which is 43,560 cubic feet, one acre (43,560 square feet) times one foot of depth.
The everyday reference: an acre foot has historically been described as roughly a year of supply for one to two typical households, a rough planning figure utilities use, with the actual number depending on local usage and conservation.
How many barrels are in an acre foot?
One acre foot equals approximately 7,758 barrels at the oilfield standard of 42 gallons per barrel. This is the single most important conversion in landowner water deals, because oil and gas operators price water per barrel while your right is decreed in acre feet.
The math that follows: fresh frac waterFrac waterWater used in hydraulic fracturing. Operators source it from landowners at per-barrel prices; one acre foot is about 7,758 barrels. reported at $1.00 to more than $2.00 per barrel in the Permian Basin equates to roughly $7,800 to $15,500 per acre foot, versus about $200 per acre foot per year for a Front Range irrigation lease. Same molecule, different buyer.
The conversion table
The conversions that cover nearly every deal document:
| 1 acre foot equals | Amount | Where it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Gallons | 325,851 | Municipal and residential framing |
| Cubic feet | 43,560 | Engineering and decree math |
| Barrels (42 gal) | ≈ 7,758 | Oilfield water supply deals |
| Cubic feet per secondCubic feet per second (cfs)The flow-rate unit of water rights: one cfs flowing for 24 hours delivers about 1.98 acre feet. for 24 hrs | ≈ 1.98 AF | Direct-flow water rights |
| Million gallons | ≈ 3.07 AF (1 MG) | Industrial and municipal contracts |
What is an acre foot of water worth?
Sourced 2025-2026 markers across the West: the Idaho Water Supply Bank rents irrigation water at a posted $33 per acre foot per year; Colorado Front Range leases pay about $200 per acre foot per year; the Nasdaq Veles California Water IndexNQH2O (Nasdaq Veles California Water Index)The weekly index tracking actual water lease and sale prices across California’s five most active regions, quoted in dollars per acre foot. put California spot water at $535.91 per acre foot on August 26, 2026; Rio Grande municipal rights were publicly offered at $3,400 per acre foot in December 2025; and Colorado-Big Thompson unitsCBT unitOne allotment unit of Colorado-Big Thompson Project water administered by Northern Water. CBT units transfer by contract inside the district, making them the most liquid water asset in Colorado., a permanent supply asset, traded between $52,000 and $85,000 per unit in early 2026.
The value of an acre foot is set by who is buying and how badly they need reliability, not by the water itself. Full sourced table on our rates page.
Where to list or broker your water
If you would rather run the process yourself, these are the real channels owners use: marketplaces where you list and negotiate, and brokerages that run the deal for a commission. Or start with our valuation and let the numbers pick the channel.
We track clicks on these links to learn which services actually help owners, and some may become partner links that pay WaterLeases a referral fee at no cost to you. It never changes who we recommend. You can always get an independent valuation first.
Listing marketplaces
Listing platforms that put your right in front of active buyers. You set the price and run the negotiation.
Listing marketplace for buying, selling, and leasing water rights across the West, with an optional network of water professionals.
Best for Owners who want their right publicly listed in front of active western buyers.
Profile & get matched →or visit Western Water Market ↗Property resource marketplace where landowners list water, along with solar, minerals, and other resources, for free and field offers.
Best for Landowners who want a no-cost listing and a read on all their property resources at once.
Profile & get matched →or visit LandGate ↗Technology-first marketplace aiming at lower transaction costs and better price discovery for buying, selling, and leasing rights.
Best for Owners comfortable with a newer platform in exchange for lower friction.
Profile & get matched →or visit Water Rights Marketplace ↗Specialist brokerages
Specialist water brokerages that price the right, market it to their network, and run the deal for a commission.
Utah-focused marketplace plus full-service brokerage that markets the right, finds the counterparty, and guides the deal to close.
Best for Utah owners of water rights or irrigation shares who want a specialist to run the deal.
Profile & get matched →or visit Utah Water Hub ↗Specialized Edwards Aquifer brokerage handling purchases, sales, and leases of permitted Edwards groundwater rights.
Best for Texas owners of Edwards Aquifer permits in the San Antonio region.
Profile & get matched →or visit Edwards Water Resources ↗Valuation firms
Firms that produce formal, bank-grade appraisals and market studies for significant holdings.
The economics and valuation consultancy behind the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index; formal appraisals and market studies.
Best for Large holdings that justify a formal, bank-grade appraisal.
Profile & get matched →or visit WestWater Research ↗How WaterLeases helps
We run the first steps for you: a records check on what you hold and a confidential valuation bracketed against sourced comparables and real demand in your basin. Then you decide, lease, bank, sell, or wait, with the numbers in hand.
Article Sources
WaterLeases requires every market figure to trace to a public primary source: state agencies, published indices, official notices, or named reporting. Read our data and methodology standards.
- Idaho Department of Water Resources. "Water Supply Bank Pricing." Rental rate of $33 per acre foot beginning 2025; 90 percent of gross rent to the lessor.
- The Colorado Sun. "Though water is scarce right now, its price in parts of Colorado has dropped." April 24, 2026.
- Nasdaq. "Nasdaq Veles California Water Index (NQH2O)." Index at 535.91 dollars per acre foot, trade date August 26, 2026.
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Rio Grande Watermaster. Public notice offering municipal water rights at $3,400 per acre foot, December 2025.
- Water Education Colorado, Fresh Water News. CBT unit trades of $52,000 to $85,000 in early 2026; 2022 peak of $101,000.
- The American Oil & Gas Reporter. "Permian Embraces Produced Water Recycling." Fresh water at $1 per barrel, in cases exceeding $2; recycling shares and costs.