Amarillo Really Pumped HOW Much Water After The Massive Rains?

We spent the better portion of last month talking about rain. We got a lot of it between May and early June. The flooding is something that will stick with many of us for a long while. The City of Amarillo recently put out a press release putting an exact number to how many gallons of water was pumped from our area's playa lakes. It's unbelievable.

The Key Word Is Billion. A Billion Gallons Of Water.

According to the press release, just over one billion gallons of water were pumped from the playa lakes in Amarillo. This took place between June 2, and July 10 of this year.

To be exact, the number they gave in the press release was 1,016,000,000 gallons. That's a tough number to wrap your head around.

To be fair, the press release says that is the estimated number. Still, I can't wrap my mind around being in that ballpark.

That's a lot of water.

So, Just How Much Is A Billion Gallons Of Water

Lucky for us, the City of Amarillo had a feeling we'd all be asking that question. So, they decided to give us an example.

The one they used, was the Route 66 water tower.

You're familiar with the Route 66 water tower. It's the one on 6th. If you really want me to get specific, it's the one with Route 66 painted on it.

Now, hold the image of that water tower in your mind. That water tower, according to the City, holds 1,000,000 gallons of water. If that many zeros confuses you, that's one million.

Next, imagine pumping every drop of water from 1,000 of those. Pretty intense, right?

That's how much water was pumped from the playa lakes.

Here's the kicker. The press release goes on to state that the pumping isn't done. It's going to continue. For months.