Cattle Water System Calculator

Size your livestock water system. Calculate daily demand, tank size, pipe diameter, and pump capacity for your herd.

Inputs

Herd Size

head

Daily Intake per Head

gal/day

Peak Temperature Factor

Distance to Water Source

Elevation Change

Tab to move between fields

Results

Peak Demand

2,250 gal

≈ 6 hot tubs

Recommended Tank Size

4,500 gal

≈ 11 hot tubs

Daily Demand1,500 gal

Pipe Diameter1.5 inches

Pump Capacity Needed4.7 GPM

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Herd Size, Daily Intake per Head, and Peak Temperature Factor.
Set Distance to Water Source and Elevation Change.
Review Peak Demand (gal) and Recommended Tank Size (gal).
Use Daily Demand (gal) and Pipe Diameter (inches) to inform your decision.
Use the chart to visualize the results and explore different scenarios by adjusting inputs.

How the result changes with Herd Size

Herd Size	Peak Demand	Recommended Tank Size
501	11,273 gal	22,545 gal
1,751	39,398 gal	78,795 gal
3,250	73,125 gal	146,250 gal
4,500	101,250 gal	202,500 gal

What each input means

Herd Size: Number of cattle served by this water system.
Daily Intake per Head: Average daily water intake per animal (12-20 gal typical for mature cattle).
Peak Temperature Factor: Multiplier for hot days (1.5x for moderate heat, 2x for extreme heat).
Distance to Water Source: Linear distance from water source to trough/tank.
Elevation Change: Elevation difference from source to delivery point.

What each result means

Daily Demand: Normal daily water demand.
Peak Demand: Hot-day water demand.
Recommended Tank Size: Tank capacity for 2 days of peak demand.
Pipe Diameter: Recommended pipe size.
Pump Capacity Needed: Pump rate to fill in 8 hours.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Herd Size = 100, Daily Intake per Head = 15, Peak Temperature Factor = 1.5, Distance to Water Source = 1000 = 5 input(s) provided
Calculate Peak Demand
Peak Demand
2250 = 2250
Calculate Recommended Tank Size
Recommended Tank Size
4500 = 4500
Calculate Daily Demand
Daily Demand
1500 = 1500
Calculate Pipe Diameter
1.5 = 1.5

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