40d:Water pressure

The only pressure that Dwarf Fortress attempts to replicate is hydrostatic water pressure.

In layman's terms, if you have a tall body of water (such as a lake or a tower you have pumped full of water) then the water at the lowest z-level is being 'squeezed' by the weight of the water above it. If it is released it will move with remarkable speed and can flow up stairs, ramps, and over channels. It will continue flowing until it runs out of space or it fills to a z-level equal to the source.

As another model, think of a pipe shaped like a "J". If you pour water in the taller end of the pipe, it will come out the lower end until the water levels on both sides are equal. Until all the water in the tall part is at the same level as the lower part, water will continue to come out that lower end. This is Dwarf Fortress "water pressure".

Dwarf Fortress does not model surface friction nor air pressure, so the water will not slow in transit nor will 'trapped air bubbles' form. Magma does not have pressure (it cannot flow up, and doesn't appear to move at greater speeds).

Pumps do not create pressure. They simply pull water from one level below on end and dump it out at the other. There is no "force" behind a pump. Water pumped to a high level will, as normal, have pressure compared to a lower level.

Dangers

It is easy to flood your fortress accidentally by not accounting for water pressure. For example:

• It is safe to dig out a cistern one level below a murky pool, and to channel above a few tiles of the cistern so that your dwarves can get water from it without having to go outside.
• It is safe to refill a murky pool with water from a pump or brook/river/etc on the same level.
• It is not safe to do both to the same pool! The water from the pump/brook/river/whatever will fill the pool to 7/7, and will then pressurize the water in the cistern, which will then flow up out of your channels and flood your fort.

Waterfalls

Waterfalls are of special concern. If you tap or even channel a water source that is downstream from a waterfall, the pressure will be equal to the level at the top of the waterfall. It is absolutely critical to reduce the pressure in such a system if you do not wish flooding - altho' if used solely for a complex drowning trap or other purpose, flooding may be desirable.

Mitigating dangers

Diagonal Flow

When water flows through two tiles that are diagonally adjacent, it loses all pressure from higher levels.

Top View
 
                ######
        #########≈≈≈≈########
 Direction-> ≈≈≈≈#≈≈≈≈≈≈ ->
    of    -> ≈≈≈≈≈#≈≈≈≈≈ ->
   Flow   -> ≈≈≈≈≈≈#≈≈≈≈ ->
        ###########≈#########
                  ###

 # = wall, constructed or undug
 ≈ = pressurized water
 ≈ = neutral/normal water pressure

This does not work on a vertical basis - water only travels vertically to a different z-level, never diagonally.

If you wish to maintain the rate of flow after de-pressurizing, it's recommended that you have more diagonals than water tiles - that is, if the source is 3-tiles wide, you may wish 4 or more diagonal passages.

Hatches

Hatches can be placed over channels, stairs, ramps etc to prevent water moving vertically but still allow the tile to be used, even as a water source (and possibly still for fishing too).

Pumps

When water is passed through pumps, the pressure is re-set to that of the exit tile. Of course, there is a downside - you still have to run the pumps and due to the source water's pressure the pump must be powered instead of run by a dwarf (the tile the dwarf needs to stand on is filled by water). Furthermore the power cannot be transmitted by a gear placed next to the pump, because the water will simply flow down the passage the gear comes from!

Your vertical axles or gear assemblies need to be placed above the unwalkable tile of the pump, and there must not be a channel over the walkable pump tile. (Water can only flow straight upward, not up and to the side at the same time.) Multiple adjacent pumps will also transfer power between themselves automatically.

Side view
                      
    Power  Water      Key
      ↓    ↓↓↓↓↓      # = Normal wall
######║####≈≈≈≈≈      # = Wall that pressurised water would flow into if it were to be dug out
######║#####≈≈≈≈      ≈ = Regular water
_ ___#║#######≈≈      ≈ = Pressurised water
#≈≈≈≈≈%%≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈      %% = Pump
########≈#######      ║ = Axle
################      _ = Floor

Theory

What follows here are several rules which specify how water pressure affects water's behavior. These were written to fit experimentally observed behavior as best as possible. (There used to be two models here, but the second one couldn't be reconciled with the observed results of the water-overpressure-in-river experiment, though the first also had to be extensively rewritten. The chief problem with the second one was that it was essentially "water pressure in a 7/7 water tile is determined by the difference in z-level between it and the highest 7/7 water tile it's connected to," and that pressure wasn't something to be transmitted between tiles. This would mean an entire river overpressurized should overflow along the entire river length simultaneously. It didn't.)

Current best pressure model

Note: this may not be correct. See [1] and [2] for info from Toady.

1. Water normally has 0 pressure.
2. If a water source (including pumps) attempts to create water in its output tile but cannot due to it being full already, it will pressurize the output tile (it remains pressure 0, but this allows it to pressurize the tile below it and give it pressure 1).
3. Water sources attempt to generate water in tiles adjacent to pressurized tiles. They will not generate water in tiles above pressurized tiles unless the water source has nowhere else to generate any water, and they will never generate water above the water source's z-level.
4. The amount of water generated per tick does NOT appear to increase as the radius of the water blob increases. Water being generated on two z-levels at once has been observed to generate faster on the lower level, but it is unclear if this actually means that lower levels have more water generated, or if some other factor was at work.
5. For water sources, seemingly random valid pressurized tiles are chosen to generate water at each tick. However, tiles closer to the source are preferred (This may or may not be due to how pressurization spreads?).
6. The pressurization state spreads from a tile to adjacent, above, or below tiles only if both are 7/7, and only if the pressurized tile has no tiles adjacent, above, or below itself which it could generate water in.
7. Pressure which is transmitted downward is increased by 1. 7/7 water which falls and remains 7/7 also increases in pressure ^[Verify].
8. Pressure which is transmitted upward is decreased by 1.
9. Tiles with 0 pressure can be considered 'pressurized' for the purpose of generating water (they have no speed bonus).
10. Pumps do not transmit pressure. Water which comes out of pumps has 0 pressure. (Note that you must ensure that output water does not contact input water, or pressure WILL be transmitted through the connection)
11. Water tiles which drop below 7/7 density become 0 pressure and unpressurized.
12. Pressure makes water moves faster, with each level of pressure seemingly providing greater speed.
13. Falling water which falls onto 7/7 water acts as a 'source' (but is destroyed when its water is re-created elsewhere).

Anomalies

• If you drop a fixed amount of water several levels down a shaft into another room, you can end up with more water than you started with. ^{v0.27.169.33g}
• Pumps can turn into seemingly infinite water generators (though they can be stopped by blocking their input with a hatch, or by disconnecting their power).^{v0.27.169.33g} The above model currently appears to match this behavior if pumps are considered water sources. Perhaps pumps are not removing water from their input if they are unable to put water in the output, but they still generate water elsewhere as a source? ^[Verify]
• A "u-bend bug" has been reported, which generates infinite amounts of water due to the source of the pressure not being properly drained. ^{v0.27.176.38a}
• When dealing with a Waterfall, water keeps the pressure of the highest z-level, no matter the height of the waterfall. This means if a channel is dug after the waterfall, it will have the pressure as if there was water above it to the original z-level of the water.

Movies of pressure experiments

• [3] - Showing that pressure is not transmitted through non-7/7 tiles.
• [4] - Showing that pumps output 0-pressure water even from a high-pressure source, that water will not flow up and to the side at the same time (has to flow straight up), and a few other things
• [5] - Pump turned into infinite water generator, but still provided useful information on how overpressure causes upward flooding.
• [6] - Uses three pumps connected to different tunnel layouts to test a few of these rules: One tunnel has three accessible z-levels. The second tunnel has one accessible z level and periodic shafts up. The third has only one accessible z level with no shafts. The bottom level of all three filled first, and the shafts did not fill until the bottom was filled. The second level of the three-high tunnel did not begin filling until the first was full. They did not all fill the bottom at once, but this is believed to be due to the order in which their pumps are placed on the river.

Possible future experiments

• Have a pump pumping water into a 3-wide tunnel with a 1-wide tunnel below it. Have another pump pumping water into a 1-wide tunnel with a 3-wide tunnel below it. Observe whether the bottom tunnel's water spreads faster in both cases or just in the smaller tunnel.
• From a pump, fill a cistern which is several levels lower. Shut off the pump and the higher level tiles with hatches once the whole thing is 7/7. Open other hatches above the cistern, combine water with unpressurized water, and see what happens.

Water FAQ
How do I move water up levels?
How do I stop water moving up levels?
Can dwarves swim to the surface for air?
How long does it take for a dwarf/goblin/creature to drown?
How deep is the water?
Is it possible to melt ice?
How do I build a well?
How do I channel a path for water?
Will water push items around?
Can I build a dam to stop the water?
Digging designation canceled: Damp stone located
What is the best way to proceed on a map with no rivers? Will my dwarves die of thirst?
How can I divert a river to allow safe(ish) indoor fishing?
How can I dig through an aquifer?
How do I purify my water?
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