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[BastiBasti]

It's often standard to embark on a river/brook for the water, power and safety. But unfortunately, it can also get in the way a lot of the time, and I was wondering is there a way to "dam" a river, to be released on demand?

[Repseki]

I believe the DF Wiki has a bit of information about different methods.

[matskuman5]

Wait until winter when it freezes. Then channel the ice off where you want the dam. Build a wall of floodgates in the hole. Link a lever to the floodgates. Close the flood gates or open them at will.

[Lielac]

Wait until winter when it freezes.

That, unfortunately, requires a winter-freeze biome.

[Drazinononda]

With enough pumps you can empty the river enough to build walls or gates across it.

[Tjoh]

And obviously magma works too.

[BastiBasti]

Any pump-free methods? I was thinking of system involving cave-in's to be honest.

[Aseaheru]

Dig a tunnel that drains off map and dig up? Or do you want it all above-ground?

[BastiBasti]

I was mostly thinking of building floodgates and containment on the z-level above the rive, then using a cave-in to block it off, raising the river to the floodgate z-level then just using that to control the river.

[Aseaheru]

Oh ah. I wouldn't know really... never needed or wanted to try.

[Larix]

You'll need to cave-in natural floor if you want anything blocked; constructions will deconstruct and only land as their component materials. Above a river, that usually means you have to cast an obsidian block, which is quite likely to require pumps or complicated minecart hauling schemes. You could instead "simply" obsidianise the river itself. And i have strong doubts that blocking a river would actually cause it to overflow.

[Aseaheru]

good point.

See! this is why we need other humans! to point out things we miss!

[BastiBasti]

Hmm, so I've basically got to simply flood somewhere else with the river, then proceed to build floodgates? Annoying, but It'll have to do I suppose. But I recently discovered you can simply put a floor over a river, so I won't actually need to re-direct it to stop invaders as I can simply block it off

[Aseaheru]

Woo!

[Rogue Yun]

When it comes to damming rivers I cheat. I use the liquids-here command in dfhack to drop a square of magma into a square of river water. Dams it up pretty well. Anything else kills my frame rate : (  One day I'll get up the courage to buy a computer purely to play dwarf fortress on.