The average California home uses approximately which range of acre-feet of water per year?

• A. 0.2 ac-ft
• B. 0.5 - 1 ac-ft
• C. 1-2 ac-ft
• D. 2-3 ac-ft

Answer: (B)

Understanding acre-foot helps put household water use into perspective. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, a common unit for annual water deliveries to homes and landscapes. For a typical California home, indoor use plus outdoor irrigation adds up to roughly half a million to one million gallons per year. Indoor demand (for a household of a few people) accounts for only part of that, while outdoor irrigation—especially in California’s dry climate—contributes a sizable portion. Taken together, many California homes fall in the range of about 0.5 to 1 acre-foot per year, which is why that option is the best fit. The smaller figure would underrepresent outdoor use for most homes, and the larger figure would reflect much heavier irrigation or unusual circumstances not typical for the average household.