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Use the pillar method to redirect the river.

2 (16.7%)

Make a pump stack powered by the river to get magma to the surface to stop the river and hopefully not burn the entire jungle.

10 (83.3%)

Total Members Voted: 11

[Ironfang]

Well, I have run into bit of a problem. I had gotten this really nice embark on top of a waterfall. It has flux, iron, platinum, coal, sand, and in a tropical forest.

It did however have something that was new to me, or more it lacked it. I did not have any aquifer. I normally use aquifers to provide a water source for my fort during sieges and for hospitals. But as this map lacked one, I figured "Hey, why not just use the river". I tried using my normal method for getting water from a aquifer or magma from a volcano. When I tried it with a river however...

I got FUN!

The water started filling up my main craft center, and was moving towards the main staircase. I managed to slow the flow by digging holes for the river to flow through. While it slowed the flooding, it did not stop it. I also stopped the flood risks by using the same thing that was flooding the fort, the river.

I opened a drain in the lower area of the mine shaft, the water can flow back down into the river below. I also opened a drain in the craft room, and walled off areas.

But here is my problem, I need a way to take back control of the river. If I don't, all the valuables in there will get flooded. Any ideas on how to stop the water and reverse the flooding. The water is also really not helping my FPS.

[Nilbert]

That does sound fun!  Any drownings?  That would be... terrible?

I actually have never used an aquifer as I thought that ruined FPS.  I have worked with rivers and creeks and had some experience with fun.  Now I use cavern water or pumped murky ponds if available.  Not because they're not fun... all about the FPS.

What did you do that made it flood, if you don't mind?

One thought is to dig a canal with a few flood gates on it that bypasses the area you want to recover.  Send in the sacrificial miner to channel to the flood gates.  Then possibly try to build a structure out of rock (not blocks) overtop of the river on a pillar attached to a lever.  Pull the lever, fill in the river and open the flood gates.  That should divert the river.  After that, I'd flood the rest of the fortress from the craft area in a controlled manner.  Let just enough water through that it fills 1 water level and let it evaporate.

You may have to channel the river/creek first.  If I recall since last time I used a river or creek, one of them dwarves can walk across.  The other they sink like a rock.

[Ironfang]

No drownings from getting trapped, some miners did get washed out into the ravine to join the dumb fisher dwarf. In fact, a little kid made an artifact while the room flooded. Because of the drainage I put in, the water is technically just an annoyance. If need be, I could just abandon the area. I would just need to stockpile all the stuff out.

That would still leave me with a floor partly flooded and absolutely covered in dog pus. I did not know that dogs could get enough pus to form so many pools of it. It's like yellow paint.

[anewaname]

If you plan to dig an area with floodgates to siphon off water flow, you could also make a few extra floodgates, then while the water is being diverted, build them at the place where the water is currently flowing through your fortress (instead of building a wall there). You can hook them up to mechanisms later and use them as a way to dump water into a new fort entrance on a lower level (giving you a drowning trap or a way to clean muck out of your depot).

The pus is probably being tracked and effectively multiplied. You could clean it by building a pile of buildings (craftshops?) and then removing them, see this.

[YetAnotherLurker]

Magma is always the solution.

Seriously, if you have easy access to magma, or already have a magma elevator/pumpstack, you can block off your water flow with cast obsidian plugs. Just be sure to take proper precautions against !!grass!!, which easily leads to such fun things as !!cats!!, !!trees!!, and !!dorfs!!.

[postfux]

I like embarks with rivers and no aquifiers. You can build an underground river by mining out a new river bed and chanelling to the surface river from below through a retractable bridge. Close off the underground river drain with a raising bridge. This way you can turn on/off your underground river and flood your fortress even better than with a cistern.

This method may also solve your problem because it will drain the surface river and give you all the time in the world to get rid of the water and repair the cistern system.

For my water support I use a cistern with a floodgated intake from the river on the lowest cistern level and a floodgated drain to the map edge on the same level. On the well level there is a non floodgated emergency drain. For even higher security you can make the emergency drain one level below the well level but you will lose a cistern level this way.

Whenever there are water operations ongoing I lock the only door to the cistern/ well complex. It is doable but takes extreme mismanagement to achieve fun this way. From experience I recommend to position the levers far away from the well door, best a level above.

[Starver]

As you will now know, OP, when working with water you've got to consider pressures and fill-levels and pre-prepare floodgates (and/or any of the other single- or reversible-use blocking methods) and ideally an emergency drain that you can trigger to deal with any surprises you didn't account for.  (This should also matter with aquifer use, if you're not just creating static pools within the aquifer itself, but maybe the Z-level difference was a novel factor in this case, thus your confusion-led circumstances.)

Also applies to magma.  But that's often harder to deal with/recover from.

[Nilbert]

Totally change my suggestion to that of YetAnotherLurker.  Magma IS the answer.  Fill in the holes, get rid of the water, get rid of the pus, and get rid of the stockpiles.  Just add a little magma and wait.  Can start fresh with obsidian walls.

[Ironfang]

After the many suggestions I have received, I am holding a poll to determine the fate of my fortress.

The lives of a hundred dwarves rests in your hands.

This plan will in no way backfire.

[Nilbert]

I voted for magma, but as a small note, I voted yah to the first part and abstain on the second.  A little forest fire sounds like fun.

[Skorpion]

For starters, you should have used pumps to acquire your water from the river, then to depressurise it at the other end. Otherwise, I vote magma.

[Immortal-D]

Normally magma is the go-to solution.  That said, moving it from the magma sea to surface is gonna take you ages.  I recommend simply pumping the river enough to drain it while you build containment.

[☼Another☼]

The poll has a flaw. You gave us a choice between the dwarven solution, and the sensible solution. Of course we will vote for magma, but the first is most sensible because it won't kill your FPS.

[Ironfang]

Shhhh, you'll reveal the secret of the poll.

Little detail: I have not even made it past the first layer of metamorphic rock, and my main mine shaft is acting as a drain.

[Skorpion]

Your best solution is probably pumping out space to construct walls in. Set up a mason's workshop nearby that gives to a block stockpile, and use those for the constructions.