Water Units, Data Conversions, and Constants

Abstract

Water experts, managers, scientists, and educators work with a bewildering array of different units and data. These vary with the field of work: engineers may use different water units than hydrologists; urban water agencies may use different units than reservoir operators; academics may use different units than water managers. But they also vary with regions: water agencies in England may use different units than water agencies in France or Africa; hydrologists in the eastern United States often use different units than hydrologists in the western United States. And they vary over time: today’s water agency in California may sell water by the acre-foot, but its predecessor a century ago may have sold miner’s inches or some other now arcane measure.