About

Water utilities across the United States report consumption in CCF - centum cubic feet, where 1 CCF equals 100 ft³ of water. Most consumers think in gallons. A misread water bill can cause overpayment or mask a leak that wastes thousands of gallons per month. This converter applies the NIST-defined volumetric factor: 1 ft³ = 7.48052 gal (US), yielding 1 CCF = 748.052 US gallons. The factor is exact for liquid measure at standard conditions. For UK imperial gallons, multiply by 6.22884 instead.

Pro tip: if your meter reads in CCF and your bill shows a jump of 2 - 3 CCF above your seasonal average, inspect for toilet flapper leaks or irrigation line breaks before the next billing cycle. A single running toilet can waste 1 - 2 CCF per month. This tool assumes US liquid gallons unless otherwise noted.

Formulas

The conversion between CCF and US gallons relies on two fixed factors defined by NIST Handbook 44:

V_gal = V_CCF × 100 × 7.48052

Which simplifies to:

V_gal = V_CCF × 748.052

The inverse conversion from gallons to CCF:

V_CCF = V_gal748.052

Where:

V_gal = volume in US liquid gallons. V_CCF = volume in centum cubic feet (1 CCF = 100 ft³). The constant 7.48052 gal/ft³ is the NIST volumetric equivalence for US liquid gallons at standard conditions (60°F).

Reference Data

CCF	Cubic Feet (ft³)	US Gallons (gal)	Liters (L)	Typical Use Case
0.5	50	374.03	1,415.84	Low single-person monthly indoor use
1	100	748.05	2,831.68	Efficient single-person household
2	200	1,496.10	5,663.37	Small household (1-2 persons)
3	300	2,244.16	8,495.05	Average apartment monthly use
4	400	2,992.21	11,326.74	Small family (2-3 persons)
5	500	3,740.26	14,158.42	Average US household monthly use
7	700	5,236.36	19,821.79	Family of 4, moderate outdoor watering
10	1,000	7,480.52	28,316.85	Large household or small irrigation
15	1,500	11,220.78	42,475.27	Heavy irrigation or pool filling
20	2,000	14,961.04	56,633.69	Large property with landscaping
25	2,500	18,701.30	70,792.12	Small commercial establishment
50	5,000	37,402.60	141,584.23	Medium commercial / laundromat
75	7,500	56,103.90	212,376.35	Restaurant or car wash
100	10,000	74,805.19	283,168.47	Large commercial / small industrial
200	20,000	149,610.39	566,336.93	Industrial facility
500	50,000	374,025.97	1,415,842.34	Municipal or agricultural
748.052	74,805.2	559,562.03	2,118,880.00	≈ 1 acre-foot equivalent
1,000	100,000	748,051.95	2,831,684.66	Large-scale agricultural / municipal

Frequently Asked Questions

CCF stands for "centum cubic feet" - the Latin prefix "centum" meaning one hundred. So 1 CCF equals exactly 100 cubic feet of water, which is 748.052 US gallons. Utilities use CCF because water meters measure volumetric flow in cubic feet, and billing in hundreds keeps the numbers manageable for residential accounts.

Water meters in the US mechanically measure volume in cubic feet. Reporting in CCF (hundreds of cubic feet) produces convenient billing numbers - a typical household uses 4-8 CCF per month rather than 2,992-5,984 gallons. Some utilities in arid regions report in HCF (identical to CCF) or in units of 1,000 gallons. Always check your bill header for the unit label.

Yes. 1 US liquid gallon = 3.78541 liters, while 1 Imperial gallon = 4.54609 liters. This means 1 CCF = 748.052 US gallons but only 623.884 Imperial gallons. This converter uses US gallons by default, as CCF is predominantly a US billing unit. If you need Imperial gallons, multiply your CCF value by 622.884 instead of 748.052.

According to the USGS and AWWA, the average US household uses approximately 5-7 CCF per month (3,740-5,236 gallons). This varies significantly by region: desert Southwest households with irrigation may use 12-20 CCF, while efficient apartments in the Northeast average 2-4 CCF. A sudden increase of 2+ CCF above your baseline often indicates a leak.

The conversion factor 7.48052 gal/ft³ is a geometric identity - it relates volume units, not mass. It does not change with temperature or pressure. However, if your meter measures volume at high temperature (thermal expansion), the actual mass of water delivered per CCF decreases slightly. For residential billing purposes this effect is negligible (less than 0.5% between 40°F and 100°F).

Record your meter reading before bed and again in the morning without using any water. If the reading increased, you have a leak. Even a 0.1 CCF overnight change means roughly 74.8 gallons lost in a few hours. Common culprits: toilet flappers (0.5-2 CCF/month waste), dripping faucets (0.1-0.5 CCF/month), and irrigation line breaks (5+ CCF/month). Many utilities offer leak adjustment credits if you prove a repair was made.

Yes. Chain the conversion: 1 CCF = 748.052 US gal × 3.78541 L/gal = 2,831.685 liters = 2.831685 cubic meters. So 1 CCF ≈ 2.832 m³. This is useful when comparing US utility data against international (metric) water consumption benchmarks.