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[Chalk]

Hallo, I am having a problem with my injured wrestler. More specifically, this whole "bring water to him" deal is something my dwarfs don't seem to grasp.

Some things:
1: I do indeed have a water source designated from the 'i' menu. Two of them, in fact. Both are above a murky pool as there is no running water on this map.
2: I have three buckets; they shouldn't be an issue.
3: There are many idlers, all of whom have health care turned on.
4: I keep getting this message: "Urist McPeon cancels Give Water: No water source." This is patently untrue, as outlined above.
5: These water sources are about 20 steps away from  my front doors, over flat and tidy ground.
5: No, I am not near a coastline. No saltwater on my map either.

I don't want my wrestler to die. He got his wounds in a very dwarfly fashion: fighting the elves. Surely such an act should not be punished by an untimely death!

Can anyone help me please?

[Eater of Vermin]

Obviously the murky pool isn't being deemed a suitable water source.  I don't know that I'd want to drink muddy water, either...

If I were you, I'd channel a square to one side of the pool & mark that as the water source instead.

Actually, I'd channel the pools to a small underground cistern and build a well over the top.  I'd keep the channels as short as possible to reduce loss through evaporation...  as your only source of replacement water will be be the murky pools refilling in the rain.  [shudder]

[Chalk]

Huh. A strange solution, but I guess channeling is my best bet here. It strikes me as odd, though-- I've had injured dwarves before in this fort, some for more than a season, and the murkiness of the pool as never an issue before...

Than again, dwarves. *shrug*

Oh well. If it's the only way to save this guy....

Thanks for your advice!

[zooeyglass]

4: I keep getting this message: "Urist McPeon cancels Give Water: No water source." This is patently untrue, as outlined above.

i believe that "no water source" is indeed about no flowing or clean water, ie water deemed drinkable by dwarfs. However, if you fix up a well, the dwarfs should be willing to take water from it (obviously by fix up i mean build a well and also ensure there is water below it). for further safety, have you considered pumping water from the pool as pumps work all kinds of magic (desalinate water, get it flowing, depressurise, etc - i'm thinking mainly of the second option there)

[Eater of Vermin]

I'm not sure, but it's posible that the water in murky pools is generated as perfectly drinkable when you first embark, but the first season change or rainfall may give it the tag of "murky."   Hence drinkable only as a last resort.  That'd explain why dwarves would drink from it in the early game, anyway.  Needs more looking into.

I think that it's only considered murky while it's over a "murky pool" tile which is why the single tile channel works.  mind you, I haven't done it that way in quite a few games and it may not work in 40d<whatever>

Nowadays, I channel into an underground well.  One hint: if you do this, it's a good idea to count the number of tiles in the pool (let's call that X) and if your channel is longish, install a floodgate at every X/2 tiles of length.

That way, when you flood the first section of channel, closest to the pool, the water level only drops from 7/7 to 3/7 or 4/7.  Wait for rain to fill it up to 7/7 again, before opening the next floodgate to fill the second length of channel.

This way you don't lose water due to evaporation (letting levels drop to 1/7 or 2/7 is a baaad move!) and your dwarves'll still have somewhere to go fishing.  In the meantime, you can assign the first bit of channel as a water source until, eventually, the well becomes active...

[illiterate]

The biggest problem I had with my rain barrel and cistern was evaporation.  The fact that I was also using my water source for mist might have been a problem too.  Was never sure how the dwarves felt about drinking their used shower water. 

[Granite26]

Don't you need to designate the drinking area as one square larger (include where you stand to get the water)?

[Albedo]

Murky pools start out as "murky", and sub-optimal; it's when water gets either "stagnant" or "polluted" that it's unacceptable for drinking.

I too believe you need to make drinking areas span both the water and the land tile next to them, same as a dumping pit.

If you're going to tap a murky pool, make sure 1) it's large enough that you aren't going to drain it, b) you dig underground, to prevent AG evaporation problems (from heat, etc), iii) preferable tap from below (by digging up), to keep the flow deep (also gives more flexibility re wells/etc.) Don't make it too long or, again, you might drain too much and suffer evaporation at one end or the other. ("too much" depending on the size of the pool.)

I like the multiple floodgate option - positive protection against such.

[Sutremaine]

Murky pools start out as "murky", and sub-optimal; it's when water gets either "stagnant" or "polluted" that it's unacceptable for drinking.

How do you make it stagnant or polluted? I've k'd over bloody water and never gotten anything out of the ordinary, just blood and water being listed as on the same tile.

[Stargrasper]

Murky pools start out as "murky", and sub-optimal; it's when water gets either "stagnant" or "polluted" that it's unacceptable for drinking.

How do you make it stagnant or polluted? I've k'd over bloody water and never gotten anything out of the ordinary, just blood and water being listed as on the same tile.

I do believe that counts as polluted water and your dwarves won't drink it, even if it's at the bottom of your well.  I'm not sure about stagnant water, but presumably it's water that doesn't move for a long time.

[Lord Dakoth]

I've had this problem before. Is the water, by any chance, one Z-level below the ground?

If so, you may have to build a ramp down to the water source. This can be done through the Designations (d) menu.

Make sure that the water is shallow enough (I think 4/7 or 5/7 for dwarves) so that your water-gatherer won't drown.

If the water is indeed too muddy for drinking, you could use a screw pump to move it. I believe that takes away the "stagnant" tag.

[Hyndis]

They hate drinking from ponds or rivers. They will flock to wells even without having to zone a well, but they will wait until they're very, very thirsty before eventually drinking bad water.