How much hydrostatic pressure does a foot of vertical piping filled with water exert?

The correct understanding of hydrostatic pressure in a fluid is based on the height of the fluid column. Specifically, for water at standard conditions, hydrostatic pressure increases linearly with depth. The general formula for calculating hydrostatic pressure is given by the equation ( P = \rho \cdot g \cdot h ), where ( P ) is the pressure in pascals, ( \rho ) is the density of the fluid (for water, approximately ( 62.4 , \text{lb/ft}^3 )), ( g ) is the acceleration due to gravity (approximately ( 32.2 , \text{ft/s}^2 )), and ( h ) is the height of the fluid column in feet.

For every foot of water column, the pressure can also be directly approximated as increasing by about 0.433 psi. This value is derived from the fact that 1 psi effectively supports a vertical column of water approximately 2.31 feet high. Therefore, for a height of just one foot, the pressure exerted by the water column is 0.433 psi. This simple conversion demonstrates why the correct answer is indeed that a foot of vertical piping filled with