Cubic feet per second to Gallons per minute conversion

How to convert cubic feet per second to gallons per minute?

Certainly! Let's break down the conversion from cubic feet per second (cfs) to gallons per minute (gpm).

1. Understand the Units:

   • 1 cubic foot (ft³) is equivalent to 7.48052 gallons.
   • There are 60 seconds in a minute.

2. Set Up the Conversion:

   • First, convert 1 cubic foot to gallons: $1 \text{ ft³} = 7.48052 \text{ gallons}$
   • Since the flow rate is in cubic feet per second, we need to convert seconds to minutes. There are 60 seconds in a minute, so: $1 \text{ ft³/s} = 7.48052 \text{ gallons/s}$ Now, convert seconds to minutes: $7.48052 \text{ gallons/s} \times 60 \text{ s/min} = 448.8312 \text{ gallons/min}$

So, 1 cubic foot per second is equivalent to 448.8312 gallons per minute.

Real World Examples:

1. Small stream or creek:

   • Suppose a small stream has a flow rate of 0.5 cubic feet per second. $0.5 \text{ cfs} = 0.5 \times 448.8312 \text{ gpm} = 224.4156 \text{ gpm}$
   • Flow rate is approximately 224.42 gallons per minute.

2. Water supply infrastructure:

   • A municipal pipeline delivering water might have a flow rate of 5 cubic feet per second. $5 \text{ cfs} = 5 \times 448.8312 \text{ gpm} = 2244.156 \text{ gpm}$
   • Flow rate is approximately 2244.16 gallons per minute.

3. Large river:

   • A large river could have a flow rate of 10,000 cubic feet per second. $10,000 \text{ cfs} = 10,000 \times 448.8312 \text{ gpm} = 4,488,312 \text{ gpm}$
   • Flow rate is approximately 4.49 million gallons per minute.

These examples illustrate how different flow rates in cfs can represent significantly different volumes of water in terms of gallons per minute.