Water is at the heart of Timberborn, affecting everything from farming and drinking water supply to industrial power. This guide will break down the fundamental and advanced mechanics of water management, helping you master the game’s hydrodynamics and optimize your colony’s efficiency.

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Water Basics: Good vs. Bad Water

• Good Water: Keeps land fertile, necessary for crops and beaver survival.
• Bad Water: Pollutes, kills crops, and causes sickness but is essential for heavy industry.
• These can mix to create different contamination levels, affecting irrigation and health.
• Water sources turn off during droughts, so reservoirs and tanks are essential.

Understanding the Bad Tide

• Special seasons where all water sources produce bad water.
• Requires a bad water diversion system to keep clean supplies safe.
• Good water irrigates, while bad water contaminates.

Water Flow Mechanics

Irrigation and Contamination

• Clean water irrigates land up to 16 tiles away (depends on width and contamination level).
• Each height step reduces range by 6 tiles.
• Contaminated water spreads up to 7 tiles, killing crops and trees.
• Digging deep channels for bad water prevents it from spreading contamination.

Evaporation and Storage

• Water evaporates faster in shallow, exposed areas.
• Ideal storage: 3×3 ponds or 3-wide canals to minimize loss.
• Tanks store water without evaporation and compress liquid for high capacity.
• Water can be uncompressed via fluid dumps for irrigation or other uses.

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Managing Water Flow with Infrastructure

Pumps and Distribution

• Regular Pumps: Extract clean water.
• Bad Water Pumps: Extract only contaminated water.
• Pumps function in mixed water sources but at a reduced rate.

Barriers for Irrigation and Contamination Control

• Folktale Barriers: Stop contamination while allowing irrigation.
• Iron Teeth Barriers: Block both contamination and irrigation.

Water Control Structures

• Levees: Block water completely.
• Dams: Retain water up to 0.7 height, allowing controlled flow.
• Floodgates: Manually adjustable dams for custom water retention.
• Sluice Gates (New in Update 6):
  • Control one-way water flow.
  • Automatically open/close based on water height.
  • Can redirect bad water without manual intervention.

Bad Water Management Structures

• Folktale Domes: Seal off bad water sources.
• Folktale Rigs: Cap and pump bad water.
• Iron Teeth Discharge: Keeps bad water flowing even during droughts, useful for continuous power generation.

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Optimizing Water Power Generation

Water Wheels and Flow Rate

• Water flow speed (CMS – cubic meters/second) affects power output.
• Narrowing rivers increases flow speed, boosting power efficiency.
• Deep and wide rivers reduce evaporation, ensuring long-term stability.
• A snake-like canal pattern can maximize power from a small space.

Managing Waterfalls and Overflows

• Each downward flow edge handles 2.2 CMS of water.
• Insufficient edges cause bottlenecks, leading to upstream flooding.
• Stacking waterfalls increases capacity.
• Adding columns to waterfalls can expand flow potential to handle extreme water volumes.

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Advanced Water Management: Pipes and Aqueducts

Pipes & Communicating Vessels

• Pipes connect bodies of water, equalizing their height.
• No flow rate limit inside pipes.
• Can move water uphill without pumps when completely sealed.
• Evaporation still applies, so narrow pipes have penalties.

Aqueducts for Efficient Transport

• Built using impermeable floors and levees.
• Same flow rate rules as natural rivers apply.

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Practical Applications

Examples of Smart Water Use

1. Power Efficiency: Narrowing a river with multiple water wheels maximizes energy.
2. Automated Bad Water Diversion: Sluice gates prevent contamination from spreading.
3. Bad Water Underground Storage: Keeps polluted water away from fertile land.
4. Water Bridges and Aqueducts: Transport water across valleys without pumps.
5. Speed Bumps for Flow Control: Adjusts river height for better power generation.
6. Preventing Overflows: Expanding waterfall edges prevents upstream flooding.

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Final Thoughts

Mastering Timberborn’s water mechanics is essential for a successful colony. With these tips, you can prevent drought devastation, maximize energy efficiency, and automate bad water management. Experiment with dams, sluice gates, and aqueducts to create custom water control systems and take your beaver empire to the next level!

Happy building, and may your reservoirs always be full!