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[treczoks]

I need some water down below for my new meeting hall (wells, waterfalls, dwarven water reactors). I'm currently digging a loooooong tunnel to the river, which is a few Z-levels up.

I read in the wiki that the pumps not only pump water, but also clean and "depressurise" the water. But how can I make the setup sufficiently watertight?

The input side is basically at the bottom of a U-pipe-like setup, so I'll have to wall it all in before I open the floodgates at the river. My pump will go south to north, so I'll place the walls left and right of the pump:

x=wall, space=tunnelled out, %=screw pump, |=axle, *=gear box
Upper Level
X|X
X*X
XXX
XXX
XXX
Tunnel level
X X
X%X <- Pump output end (dark green)
X%X <- Pump input end (light green)
X X
X X
Lower Level
XXX
XXX
XXX
X X <- Pump "Input hole"
X X
Side view, input on the left:
XXX*=
  %%
  XXX

Is this setup sufficiently watertight? My concern is the hole in the ceiling of the tunnel where the gear box is placed. As water can flow through diagonally adjunct open spaces, will it also squeeze through the gear box?

If this is too unsafe, I'll dig out a reservoir before the pump and use the good old floodgate & pressure switch to keep it at 4-6/7...

[beekay]

That design is, indeed, watertight. I don't think anything can move diagonally in the z-axis, and I know water can't. Directly up/down are the only options.

Just so you know, though, gear assemblies don't block anything, and liquids will flow through them freely if given the chance.

[treczoks]

That design is, indeed, watertight. I don't think anything can move diagonally in the z-axis, and I know water can't. Directly up/down are the only options.

That is good news. Thank you!

Just so you know, though, gear assemblies don't block anything, and liquids will flow through them freely if given the chance.

OK, another imprtant info one has to keep in mind.

Thank you very much for your answer.

[pixl97]

Wait, why do you need the pumps again? if the river is above the area you need then all you need to do is depressurize the water at the Z level below your wells.

XWXX
XWXX
XXWX
XXWX

X = walls, W = water

a simple setup like that depressurizes water.

[Nameless Archon]

Wait, why do you need the pumps again? if the river is above the area you need then all you need to do is depressurize the water at the Z level below your wells.

XWXX
XWXX
XXWX
XXWX

X = walls, W = water

a simple setup like that depressurizes water.

I'd reiterate this. This basic "baffle" kills pressure at the level where it occurs, allowing you to tap the source form above (...but after the baffle) safely. I use this method to build wells, provide a filling mechanism for water reactors, keep an indoor fishing zone, etc. It is, by far, the easier method to use, requires no labor once in place, and is immune to building destruction.

One thing I'd note is that things can try to get in from the river/pond/ocean/lake connection, so use a fortification to filter the water of enemies. Personally, I use a setup like this:

Code: [Select]


XXXX
.FLF.
XXXX

Where:
X = Wall
. = open floor
F = Fortification (water passes, enemies/objects normally don't)
L = floodgate, linked to a lever elsewhere during construction.
You can use the floodgate to prevent anything from passing the fortifications, nothing can reach the floodgate to destroy it, and you can use the floodgate to seal off the inputs if you need to drain the system for some reason (expansion, repairs, etc).

[gtmattz]

I am chiming in to agree with the posts above which suggest ditching the pump and simply using a diagonal depressurizer, much simpler and works well.

[Uristocrat]

I am chiming in to agree with the posts above which suggest ditching the pump and simply using a diagonal depressurizer, much simpler and works well.

Indeed, but be sure you understand how pressure works.  I once tried to "depressurize" the water at the top of my stream, right before it fell down many levels and into my well complexes.  The problem is that water on top of other water is what creates "pressure" so that did little good.  I ended up having to build + shaped sets of walls in the bottom, with the water falling in the middle of the + and escaping only along the diagonals.

Thankfully, I also built an emergency drain pump at the bottom which sucked water off-map via a fortification carved into the edge (and a floodgate at the source up top), because I would've flooded my entire fortress otherwise.

[Halnoth]

You can also build a water wheel in side your tunnel to power the pump. The water wheel would be behind your pump (toward the river not your fortress). Then you simply connect the power and connect a gear box to a lever. Now you can wall that all in and forget about it. Anytime you want to shut off the water you can flick the lever. Just make sure you have at least two gear boxes, one to anchor the wheel and 1 to attach the lever to. That whole set up is rather excessive if the water is not salty but it would be self sufficient and you wouldn't ever have to touch it again.

edit: Also, if you are using this pump to primarily push water for faster refills the set up would probably be worth it. It isn't like it would be hard to set up, so the effort is minimal.