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[Sinlessraptor]

In my latest fortress, I've accidentally drained my only water source dry and I was wondering if it will ever refill. As it's been several months and it's still empty

[Vulkanis]

Rainwater should refill it although weather is a bit unreliable, I find that it either rains almost constantly or almost never at all in DF.

[Urist McGyver]

You can always dig real deep. Theres bound to be at least one flooded cave(or a cave with a river).

[Sinlessraptor]

I've found a flooded cave, and built a second well to draw from it.

It does seem to rain, but not often.

[Renzuko]

yeah, i always make sure my embark zones have some manner of river, that way i can just tap into it for water easier. also how wide/deep was your initial well? i tend to make mine 8 wide at the top and just go in one each time i go down again till its down to just one thing, i never ran out of water in my well, i tapped into my river cuz i wanted the well to be full all the time >.>

[Urist McGyver]

If you really really liked that pond, you can always order dorfs to refill it

[Girlinhat]

Turn temperature off, and leave weather on.  If the lake fills to 2/7 then it'll eventually refill all the way.  The problem is that it warms up, water evaporates, and it negates the rain.  This is usually not an issue, unless you accidentally drained the whole thing.  However, one good rainstorm should fill it to safe levels.

If all else fails, DFLiquid it.

[Ganthan]

I've had the same issue before of draining murky pools for farming or a well reservoir and not getting them refilled.  Rain is supposed to refill them but the problem is that if it doesn't rain enough at once to bring all the pool tiles to at least 2/7 then eventually the water evaporates out again.  Depending on distance and size of the pool even a bucket brigade might not be fast enough to do the job.

However, one time on a temperate map a strange thing happened.  It started raining right before the map froze for the winter but then it kept on raining anyway.  The result?  The murky pool started getting random blocks of ice in it because the new 1/7 water tiles were getting instantly frozen.  Later when the map thawed again all the ice blocks melted into full 7/7 water tiles which was more than enough to bring the water level past the evaporation point.

Now I haven't actually tested to see if you can then bucket brigade a dry pool in winter to manually create ice blocks in it.  This might not work as the water may freeze in the buckets before you even get to the pool.

[wuphonsreach]

Now I haven't actually tested to see if you can then bucket brigade a dry pool in winter to manually create ice blocks in it.  This might not work as the water may freeze in the buckets before you even get to the pool.

Well, the problem during winter, if the pool is your only source of water would be "where do you get the water to fill the buckets"?

Although I guess you could source from your cistern, attempt to create a bunch of 1/7 ice blocks, then hope that they thaw into 7/7 water in the spring?

[Ganthan]

Yeah, sorry.  I forgot to specify that you need some kind of water stored underground already to do this.  What I'm wondering is if water filled buckets will freeze while a dwarf is hauling it through freezing temperature.  It probably does seeing is how I've seen water in a waterskin freeze into ice walking through a freezing region in adventure mode.

[Ubiq]

Now I haven't actually tested to see if you can then bucket brigade a dry pool in winter to manually create ice blocks in it.

I've held off on the last few versions because of various reasons, but that's the method I used to irrigate farms on a map that freezes in the winter. In my experience, the water remains liquid in the bucket until it is dumped. Of course, it was a short distance from the source to the designated pool so it might turn to ice if the dwarves have to walk more than a few steps.

All you really have to do is keep enough 1/7 spots wet long enough for them to freeze. Four tiles with 1/7 depth will thaw into enough water to keep fourteen tiles at 2/7 depth and that's usually enough for a small pond.

[vityav]

Currently on a glacier map at the moment, and water in buckets doesn't seem to freeze while being carried by the brigade. I'm carrying them from one underground source up to the surface and then back underground, so it stays water the whole time, but any water that hits "Outside" air outside of a bucket is instantly ice. Just tested it, and the water thrown from the bucket outside froze against the side of the wall one Z level down (but didn't make it all the way to the bottom of the pit I threw it into). If it ever got warm enough to thaw on my map, I'm sure I could make an infinite supply of water with this...

That said, if you set the buckets down outside the water seems to freeze. Don't know if it's a time thing (lasts at least 50 steps), or just that it's water so long as it's being hauled.

Edit: And I'm using 31.21

[Jeoshua]

This is why I always make sure my embarks have at least 1 aquifer tile, or a brook, or both.

[BigD145]

I've held off on the last few versions because of various reasons, but that's the method I used to irrigate farms on a map that freezes in the winter.

You don't need to irrigate in the last few versions....

[wuphonsreach]

You don't need to irrigate in the last few versions....

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that when I finally move off of 31.18.  It always takes me into autumn before I manage to plant my first underground crop and I'm constantly running up against starvation.  Especially if the autumn caravan is late / gets ambushed.