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10 Million Gallon Calculations
Toilet Flushes (Once Per Second)
Fact: The average toilet flush uses 1.6 gallons of water.
Calculation: 10,000,000 gallons ÷ 1.6 gallons/flush = 6,250,000 flushes
At 1 flush per second: 6,250,000 seconds ÷ 60 seconds/minute ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 1,736.1 hours
1,736.1 hours ÷ 24 hours/day = 72.3 days
Answer: 72.3 days
Olympic Swimming Pools
Fact: An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 660,430 gallons of water.
Calculation: 10,000,000 gallons ÷ 660,430 gallons/pool = 15.14 pools
Answer: 15 pools
Denver Metro Drinking Water
Fact: The Denver metro area has 2.9 million people.
Fact: The average person drinks 0.5 gallons of water per day.
Calculation: 2,900,000 people × 0.5 gallons/person/day = 1,450,000 gallons/day
10,000,000 gallons ÷ 1,450,000 gallons/day = 6.9 days
Answer: 6.9 days
American Homes for One Year
Fact: The average American household uses about 10,000 gallons per year (82 gallons/day × 365 days ÷ 3 people/household).
Calculation: 10,000,000 gallons ÷ 10,000 gallons/home/year = 1,000 homes
Answer: 1,000 homes
Bathtubs (Filled Every Second)
Fact: The average bathtub holds 50 gallons of water.
Calculation: 10,000,000 gallons ÷ 50 gallons/bathtub = 200,000 bathtubs
At 1 bathtub per second: 200,000 seconds ÷ 60 ÷ 60 ÷ 24 = 2.31 days
Answer: 2.3 days
Lifetime Drinking Water Supply
Fact: The average person lives 80 years and drinks 0.5 gallons per day.
Calculation: 80 years × 365 days/year × 0.5 gallons/day = 14,600 gallons per lifetime
10,000,000 gallons ÷ 14,600 gallons/person = 685 people
Answer: 685 people
Fire Trucks
Fact: A fire truck holds 500 gallons of water in its tank.
Calculation: 10,000,000 gallons ÷ 500 gallons/truck = 20,000 trucks
Answer: 20,000 trucks
Garden Hoses (Running Continuously for One 24-Hour Day)
Fact: A typical garden hose flows at 10 gallons per minute.
Calculation: 10 gallons/minute × 60 minutes/hour × 24 hours/day = 14,400 gallons/hose/day
10,000,000 gallons ÷ 14,400 gallons/hose/day = 694 hoses
Answer: 694 hoses
Water Bottles
Fact: A standard water bottle holds 16.9 oz (0.1320 gallons).
Calculation: 10,000,000 gallons ÷ 0.1320 gallons/bottle = 75,757,576 bottles
Answer: 76 million bottles (rounded)
Gunnison River Flow
Fact: The average flow of the Gunnison River near Grand Junction is 7,123 acre-feet per day.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 325,851 gallons/acre-foot ÷ 7,123 acre-feet/day ≈ 4.31 days
Answer: 4.3 days
10 Billion Gallon Calculations
Toilet Flushes (Once Per Second)
Fact: The average toilet flush uses 1.6 gallons of water.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 1.6 gallons/flush = 6,250,000,000 flushes
At 1 flush per second: 6,250,000,000 seconds ÷ 60 ÷ 60 ÷ 24 ÷ 365 = 198 years
Answer: 198 years
Olympic Swimming Pools
Fact: An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 660,430 gallons of water.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 660,430 gallons/pool = 15,141 pools
Answer: 15,100 pools
Lake Covering Manhattan
Fact: Manhattan covers 22.82 square miles (633,828,864 square feet).
Fact: One gallon equals 0.13368 cubic feet.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons × 0.13368 cubic feet/gallon = 1,336,800,000 cubic feet
1,336,800,000 cubic feet ÷ 633,828,864 square feet = 2.109 feet
Answer: 2.1 feet
Denver Metro Drinking Water
Fact: The Denver metro area has 2.9 million people.
Fact: The average person drinks 0.5 gallons of water per day.
Calculation: 2,900,000 people × 0.5 gallons/person/day = 1,450,000 gallons/day
10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 1,450,000 gallons/day = 6,897 days
6,897 days ÷ 365 days/year = 18.9 years
Answer: 18.9 years
American Homes for 100 Years
Fact: The average American household uses about 10,000 gallons per year.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 10,000 gallons/home/year = 1,000,000 home-years
1,000,000 home-years ÷ 100 years = 10,000 homes
Answer: 10,000 homes
Bathtubs (Filled Every Second)
Fact: The average bathtub holds 50 gallons of water.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 50 gallons/bathtub = 200,000,000 bathtubs
At 1 bathtub per second: 200,000,000 seconds ÷ 60 ÷ 60 ÷ 24 ÷ 365 = 6.34 years
Answer: 6.3 years
Lifetime Drinking Water Supply
Fact: The average person lives 80 years and drinks 0.5 gallons per day.
Calculation: 80 years × 365 days/year × 0.5 gallons/day = 14,600 gallons per lifetime
10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 14,600 gallons/person = 684,932 people
Answer: 685,000 people
Niagara Falls Flow
Fact: Niagara Falls flows at an average rate of 750,000 gallons per second.
Calculation: 10,000,000,000 gallons ÷ 750,000 gallons/second = 13,333 seconds
13,333 seconds ÷ 60 seconds/minute ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 3.7 hours
Answer: 3.7 hours