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[DiscountNinja]

So, is this the correct place to ask for some advice?

I've got a well set up with some floodgates etc, but I don't want the water getting stagnant underneath - basically, I'm looking for a water to drain water off of the edge of the map, several z-levels underground.

Any tips?

[Jetsquirrel]

go to the edge of the map the last tile (you cant mine it) smooth it and make a fortification and whalla! it drains off the map. if you want to make it stop make sure to put a floodgate there with a lever somewhere safe

[Aspgren]

I don't think you need to do this if your wells are located above the river(?) you're getting the water from .. if they are underground however, they will flood.

In my current fort I am building a channel that leads to a chasm, so that dwarves can have fresh water that's always flowing.. but I understand this might not be possible.

I am not sure what makes the water stagnant, if you set up several reservoirs and cut the flow it might turn out ok .. but yeah. There are two things you can do if you're really sure you want it out of there:

1. Make automatic pumps that pump the water back to the surface.
2. Dig a tunnel to the very edge of the map, and when you can't dig any further smooth the rock wall and carve fortifications in it. This will now allow the water to channel OFF the map ... but it can be considered an exploit.

[smjjames]

Actually, I don't think stagnant water happens with stuff like cisterns, so I don't think you need to have an outlet because of that. You may want a way to drain it for other reasons though.

I've only seen stagnant water happen because they were in buckets and sometimes as a result of digging into ice.

[Magua]

Wells ignore stagnant water (ie, dwarves don't mind, as long as they get their water from a well).

Bloody water, too.

I used to amuse myself by dumping goblins onto an outcropping above the cistern, and then watching their blood shower into it.  I then imagined dwarves filling buckets of the bloodwater to take to my wounded military.

[smjjames]

I don't know. I've had cisterns and wells before and I haven't seen the water get a stagnant status or the light blue color. Even when it is technically standing water since there is no water coming in or out.

Maybe each block of water needs a place to go to not be considered stagnant. Not even 1 height pools of water don't turn stagnant, or maybe they evaporate too quickly.

[DiscountNinja]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys!

The fortifcation answer was exactly the solution I was looking for. One question - I have a well that is several levels below the water source, will it overflow and flood my fortress? I have no water in the tunnel system right now (I was waiting to devise a method for the release of water in the system first).

Thanks guys!

[Magua]

Water will flow up to the level it came from.  If the well is below the level of the river, and you open a path from the river to the well, it will overflow if full.

Your options are to setup a pump to reset the water level, or simply install a floodgate that you open when needed, and then close when you have "enough" water in the cistern.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

I have a fort with a perpetual waterfall and I have a drainage point to add. Make your drainage tunnel 2 tiles high with no floors.

I channeled up to the surface brook so I would pierce it from the side. Then I led the tunnel to just above the only hallway separating my workshops and stockpiles. So I have this fort split completely in two.

The hall is 9 long x 3 wide.
This hallway is dug down with ramps 7 tiles apart, so there's floor - ramp down - 9 empty tiles - ramp down - floor. Across the hall against the walls are two rows of floor grates for the dwarves to walk on.

The next level down I have another set of ramps down, this time 5 empty tiles apart. Another pair of grates for travel.

The second level down is the ramps up 5 tiles apart.

Now I have a three-wide tunnel leading off to the map edge for drainage. But the important part is that my drainage tunnel is 2 tiles high with no floor in between.

I build fortifications behind the floodgate at the brook. Then I build another floodgate above the hall to stop flow there. The water will fall down onto the floor several levels below, sending up mist to the main hallway. Then I have fortifications at the 3 wide by 2 high drainage tunnel to stop people from being dragged down the tunnel if they fall in. This drainage tunnel quickly fills to a level of 7/7 but then excess water flows down the tunnel rather than backing up into the main mist hallway. It exits at a 5-wide carved fortification at the map edge.

Also, at Z-1 from the main hallway I have a fishing spot in a 3x3 shaft going from my well above down to the bottom level. It's on the other side of the hall from the drainage tunnel.

Works perfectly. Just lags. Also even though I have a constantly flowing water source the fish run out quickly since it seems to be based on area rather than water flow.

Side note: I always leave an empty level between floor of my fort. So as you scan downward it looks like FORT - nothing but stairs - FORT - nothing but stairs - FORT etc. This way I have left plenty of room for future plumbing at the cost of one extra tile of walking from floor to floor.

Dividing my fort in half forces everyone to experience the joys of falling water, but it also keeps my bedrooms separate from work going on elsewhere. There's a stockpile buffer and then a row of nobles' offices to keep the stockpile sound from waking dwarves up. Of course the bedroom is a mass-flophouse affair, full of master quality beds and everyone sharing a bunch of cabinets. Artifact furniture strewn in a line down the middle so everyone can slobber all over them. Same with the dining hall.

[slink]

I didn't think stockpiles caused noise.  At least, the Wiki says they don't.