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[LeoLeonardoIII]

So I have a well that sits two levels above my water level. So there's the incoming water aqueduct, then a level above that, then my well reservoir. There is a fortification at the brook and one leading into the reservoir below the well.

(There are floodgates at the brook, just before the reservoir, and at a side passage leading to another water project that also isn't working as intended, but there is nothing blocking from brook to well)

The well above is shown as Active. So why doesn't it work?

It's that other water project. It's a ramp-down tunnel filled to 4/7 water. It separates my bedrooms from the rest of the fortress. I have a floodgate to fill it to exactly 4/7 and then I can close it again. My thought was that dwarves love to sleep, and this bedroom is really awesome, so why shouldn't they be willing to swim through safe water to get there?

Turns out dwarves will rather sleep on the floor than brave the waist-deep water. At least at zero swimming skill, which is where they all are.

So does anyone have a suggestion? I left a full level of space between floors of the fort to allow space for plumbing and gears and access tunnels. I could change out my swimming passage for a continual waterfall. But I'd ideally like to have these dwarves learn to swim and I'm kind of thinking they need to walk through 4/7 water to learn.

Am I right? Or can I blast them with a waterfall that scatters 1/7 and 2/7 all over the place? Will they walk through that? I'm planning on using floor grates or something and channel the waste water off the edge of the map.

Side question: can you terraform surface red sand into grass by flooding it? Probably not. Just a quirky thought.

[Quietust]

If a tile reaches 4/7 water, dwarves will no longer attempt to path through it - if they decided to path through before it filled up, they'd cancel with "Dangerous terrain".

Regarding red sand and grass, all you have to do is wait - grass grows naturally on all outdoor soil surfaces, though repeated traffic (whether from dwarves, cats, caravans, or goblins) will trample the grass and force it to regrow. No water is required (and besides, it makes everything muddy, including the newly grown grass).

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Your avatar gives you an uncomfortable degree of authority 

I couldn't find on the swimming page of the wiki whether you need a certain water level to train swimming.

[Derakon]

Even if your dwarves are trained swimmers, they'll still refuse to path through water. They'll just be better-equipped to survive if they happen to fall in.

[Saber Cherry]

Your avatar gives you an uncomfortable degree of authority 

I couldn't find on the swimming page of the wiki whether you need a certain water level to train swimming.

From my testing, they gain experience in 4/7 water but not in 3/7 water.

[eerr]

try making long 3x10 paths which auto-fill to 3.3 water high (ocasionally 4/7 in some tiles, but there should usually be a path)


It won't give that much xp unless you keep it filled carefully for years though.


Alternatively, place levers over a long path of 4/7 water, which immediately drops the dwarf in the water. The only downside is that you have to manually restrict nobles lest they become drowning-resistant.

[martinuzz]

I made a little setup to train my military in swimming. I'd lock them in a small room that I could fill to exactly 4/7 water.
I found this:

- If I set a patrol route in that small room, before letting in the water, the soldier would continue to patrol, after letting in the water. So, 4/7 water did not cancel that path once set. However...

- If I stationed the dwarf in the room, and let in the water before setting a patrol route, the soldier would not move. So it seems, dwarves will not path through 4/7 water. But...

- This turns out to be no big deal. Dwarves, standing still in 4/7 water, still gain swimming skill. Be it slowly. Don't know if moving through water gains skill faster.

[Saber Cherry]

You don't need to lock them in.  If you just make a swimming pool with 4/7 water, with ramps on one side, and set patrols in it, they'll spend most of their time in the water.  They will go into the water even if you define the patrol after the pool is filled.

I finally got my first legendary peasant!  Took about 3 seasons in the pool, I think.  No civilian or military skills, and only dabbling in social skills aside from swimming.