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[Sucker Punch]

Friggin' fish have been kicking my ass lately, and I've been trying a few things to stop that.

What I did this time is bring rope with me when I embarked, so I could immediately dig and create a well, keeping my dwarves safe when drinking.   That worked for the most part, but now I've dug out the main parts of my fortress, and I'm in the process of moving everything indoors.   Unfortunately, I screwed up when trying to build another well in the dining room.   Common sense, really, but I didn't think of it at the time.

This is a side view of how I tried to make my well.

     R
     ~
     ~
W    ~
~    ~
~    ~
~    ~
~~~~~~

W = well
R = above ground river
~ = path of the water

I just wanted to get water under the well.   Of course, I forgot about the laws of fricking gravity which means my base is now flooded.

Is there anything I can do to stop the water from rising, but still be able to have a well, or did I screw up that design completely?   How do you have an underground well without an underground river or lake?

How else could I deal with the carp threat?

[(name here)]

the well has to not have a connection to the river. install a cut off floodgate somewhere along the line.

[Shurikane]

I double-posted.  So sad.

[Shurikane]

Your best bet is to use a double floodgate method, here is how, supposing we keep the same design as your previous well.

First, make a channel, at least two squares long, next to the river.  Keep one unchannelled square between your hole and the river.  That square will be dug last.

Next, dig the rest of your tunnel.

Now, install a floodgate on the channelled square closest to the river.  Link it to a lever of your choice.

Next, install another floodgate one square above the bottom of the tunnel leading in.  Link it to another lever that is not the same as the previous one.

You'll end up with a shaft that is blocked at both ends.  Close the gates and channel the last square to link the river to your well.

Now, open the first floodgate, let the shaft fill up, and then close it.

Next, open the second floodgate, at the bottom, and send this load of water into your well's main shaft.  Close it after the flow has stabilized.

By design, you'll have to do two or three loads to get the well filled up completely.

Code: [Select]

     ~X~R
     ~
     ~
W    ~
~    ~
~    ~
~    X
~~~~~~

I personally suggest a reservoir method, in which the well's bucket will dip into a larger space, allowing you less management of your water supply with just a minimal loss of space.  Something like this:

Code: [Select]

     ~X~R
     ~
     ~
W    ~
~    ~
~    ~
~    X
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
As you can see, you can thus have a bigger water supply, and a more forgiving well, as just filling the first Z-level is enough to make the well operational.  You can then keep dumping loads until you touch the last Z-level of your well.  This decreases the danger of overfilling the well.

If you really want to get luxurious, you can also do this:

Code: [Select]

     ~X~R
     ~
     ~
W    ~
~    ~
~ ~~ ~
~ ~~ X
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
Here's a small containment space in case you happen to screw up somewhere.

And last but not least, if you have a nearby chasm, you can then link this containment space to the chasm, where excess water will drop.  Voila!  You now have your own spillway! 

[Magua]

Having a floodgate/cistern as Shurikane advises is the smart, economical way to go.  Which is why it's not particularly dwarfy.

Dwarfy would be to set a pump at the bottom of the inflow, since pumps will reset the pressure level of water to their own, so water coming out of a pump will never overflow above that pump.  Of course, pumps need to be powered, so you need maybe some water wheels in the river.  And then those water wheels need to have axles connecting them to the pump, so you have to drill some sort of secondary shaft for the vertical axles.  And then...

[Sucker Punch]

Thanks for the tips guys.   A reservoir at the bottom combined with a couple floodgates solved my problem admirably.   Now I'm running into a couple more issues, but figured I throw them in this thread, rather than create another one.

I'm trying to create a moat around my fortress, but it's tough going, because my miner is an idiot.   He keeps falling into the channels he's digging, forcing me to dig stairs to get him out.   Unfortunately, I can't get rid of the bloody stairs, because if I have him dig a channel to eliminate the stairs, he ends up inside the bloody moat when he's done.

How can I get the moron to stay out of the channel he's digging?

Also, is there any way to tell a dwarf which side to build a floodgate from?   I wasn't thinking ahead when digging my well, and now it's interfering with my moat.   I'd got to strategically place floodgates so that the moat doesn't spill into my fortress and flood the whole thing, unfortunately my moron dwarves always build it from the wrong side, leaving them stuck and doomed to drowning.

...Actually, if I tell my dwarf to place a floodgate in a 1x1 stairway, will he build it from the top or bottom?

[Magua]

How can I get the moron to stay out of the channel he's digging?

Easiest way is to simply not designate the channel in such a way that he can never get stuck.  If you're digging through rock, mine out a line next to the channel, so that he always has somewhere to stand.  If you're channeling out a wide area, channel it out in single line segments.  Takes more management, but less stressful overall.

Alternatively, instead of channeling from above, get him inside the moat and designate everything to be dug as ramps.  Digging ramps removes the ceiling, so has the same effect.  When done, you can simply 'd'->'z' the remaining ramps around the sides.

Also, is there any way to tell a dwarf which side to build a floodgate from?   I wasn't thinking ahead when digging my well, and now it's interfering with my moat.   I'd got to strategically place floodgates so that the moat doesn't spill into my fortress and flood the whole thing, unfortunately my moron dwarves always build it from the wrong side, leaving them stuck and doomed to drowning.

Not particularly.  Actually, I believe that there is a very simple pattern to how a dwarf will stand when placing things, so that if you save, build a floodgate, reload, build the same floodgate, the dwarf will stand on the same side, but I've never cared enough to learn it.

Since you're going to link the floodgate up to a lever anyways, if they wind up on the wrong side, well, you're linking the floodgate to a lever, so just wait for that to be finished, pull the lever, and the guy will be let go.

[forsaken1111]

Dwarfcore would be to set up pressure plates that trigger the floodgates automatically. Put one at the top that closes the incoming floodgate when it gets 4/7 or more water on it, and one at the bottom that opens the incoming floodgate when it has less than 3/7 on it? I don't know if thats possible, but some combination should be capable of regulating the internal water level automatically.

[Agent_Irons]

Yes, there's a very precise algorithm for dwarf standing. I can't even count the number of times they've walled themselves in, though. MANY TIMES. My miners have to come dig them out.

Anyway, if you make a reservoir Shurikane style, dig a single I'll show you!

Code: [Select]

      C-R
      #
  W   #
  #   #
1#2   #
  #   X
  ####
  ####
  ####
P is a pressure plate, R is reservoir, X is hatch cover (quicker response than floodgate! They're like vert. door.)

I think you can set plates so that they trigger when weight is put on them, then untrigger when weight is removed? If you can't, set another plate across the shaft to trigger when water is less than 2/7, or so. Both plates are linked to the hatch cover, so if the water boils up, Plate 1 triggers, closing the hatch cover. Dwarves drink the water/use it for filling aquaria, plate 2 triggers, opening the hatch cover. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

If this works, be sure to carve my name in big letters on the mountainside.