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[toomanysecrets]

Why does everyone line their cistern? Just make the water at least 2 z-levels deep and save yourself the materials. I just opened up my current fort to be sure my well is clean so I'd be sure I'm not giving bad advice. I'm not.

[GhostDwemer]

Why does everyone make their cisterns 2 levels deep? I don't, neither do I construct them, and I don't have muddy water. Just because there is a dusting of mud on the tile, it won't make the water muddy.

@Goombageek: What you have described is impossible. You have not tried it, yet you are recommending others do it. I know you have not tried it because if you had you would know why it doesn't work: buckets do not go through grates. Why do people here recommend things they have never even tried? Are you trying to get other people to waste their time?

[Wrex]

So, would just constructing a pump in an existing cistern ber the best course of action to purify it? My water is stagnant, but I have had no casualties from infection due to a legendary surgeon and his soap.

[GoombaGeek]

Why does everyone make their cisterns 2 levels deep? I don't, neither do I construct them, and I don't have muddy water. Just because there is a dusting of mud on the tile, it won't make the water muddy.

@Goombageek: What you have described is impossible. You have not tried it, yet you are recommending others do it. I know you have not tried it because if you had you would know why it doesn't work: buckets do not go through grates. Why do people here recommend things they have never even tried? Are you trying to get other people to waste their time?

Yes. I am secretly wasting your time as part of the Waste GhostDwemer's Valuable Time Illumati. Our organization covers three continents and contains over 30,000 members. You will never know who is forcing you to write condescending replies, but we do. We always do.

[Hyndis]

I frequently embark in areas with salt water, so thats why I line the cistern just to ensure its always fresh and drinkable water.

[VerdantSF]

I frequently embark in areas with salt water, so thats why I line the cistern just to ensure its always fresh and drinkable water.

I kind of wish that there was a more in-depth method of desalination than the current pump method.  Moving water through an Archimedean screw shouldn't magically remove salt.  It would be cool to have an actual steam distillation workshop for this purpose.

[wuphonsreach]

Why does everyone make their cisterns 2 levels deep? I don't, neither do I construct them, and I don't have muddy water. Just because there is a dusting of mud on the tile, it won't make the water muddy.

Mine are always an inverted pyramid.  Lowest level is 1 tile wide, next level up is 3 tiles wide, next level up is 5 tiles wide.  Three levels is usually enough, unless I have a lot of vertical space, in which case I'll create 2-4 of the five tile wide sections.  Then I just center the well heads over the deepest section of the cisterns.

The main reason I do this is that as water gets consumed, you don't run into evaporation issues when the cistern starts to run low.

I also fill the thing with a manually operated screw pump.  From a murky pool in a temperate biome if there's no brook/river.  I'll pump just enough so that the murky pool is left at 3-4 water depth.  Then when it freezes/thaws, it will magically go back to 7 depth and I can pump more out the next year.

[MadocComadrin]

Why does everyone line their cistern? Just make the water at least 2 z-levels deep and save yourself the materials. I just opened up my current fort to be sure my well is clean so I'd be sure I'm not giving bad advice. I'm not.

I make my cistern 11x11x3 lined and I never have to worry about water ever again! (Unless I'm making a running-water project).

[I am Leo]

I make mine 1 tile wide and very deep to avoid framerate issues from water sloshing back and forth. I don't know if it actually works, but it certailnly looks a lot more like a well.

[Buttery_Mess]

I just pump water into a cistern and then seal off the source from whence it was pumped with constructed floors. I smooth all the floors in the cistern beforehand because I know I won't be able to do it later.

[Seraphim342]

Mine are always 5x5x5, never had a problem with stagnant water even without constructed walls/floors.  Bottom's muddy, but since they take from the top and that's pure it's always fine.  Also, mine are always connected to an infinite water source, so that may be what's preventing stagnation rather than a lack of constructed walls/floors.  Not sure, tbh, just never had a problem with my setup.

One thing you could do to completely BD-proof your water supply is use an artifact-quality wall grate, since they can't be destroyed.  I know I always get at least 1 artifact grate per fort, so that'd be a good use for it if you don't have a mist generator planned. 

Here's an idea I just had.  If you wanted to have a separate cistern that refills automatically from an infinite source, would it be possible to make your cistern 3+ levels high with a water wheel connected to a pump at z+1?  That way when the water level falls down to z=0, you get the dancing 7s running across the surface, establishing "flow" and causing the water wheel to turn the pump on, refilling the cistern?  Or, even simpler, put a pressure plate at the bottom of the cistern that will engage a gear assembly driving the pump when the water level gets too low?

[TurkeyXIII]

Constructed lining is only necessary if you map has saltwater.  The saltiness in the stone/soil can leech into the water supply.

I also go multiple Z levels, and occasionally an inverted pyramid as well (although usually wider than it is high).