Bay 12 Games Forum

I have made a couple of fortresses but none of them have survived the first winter very well many dwarves starving going insane.....so and so and so but i tried once digging out all the standing water around a new one and it did ok but was slaugtered the second year by golbins but i digress i found that farming to my stupid amazment could actually help me out... now i read the wikis and all the advice i could and would find now i would like some help. i dug a channel from my river to the inide area where the second fully hooked up flood gate(flush with the wall but still completely undground) with a second one also hooked to the same lever in an ajacent room. now i have water ready to flow through the gates and into the room which is sealed with tightly locked and forbidden doors (how do the pets know not to go throught forbidden doors) and i have a dwarf flip the switch and then.....nothing
it just turns into normal tiles nothing happens sept wasted time and wasted resources
please help me