Timberborn water guide: drinking reserves, dry seasons and levels

Edition: PC Steam base game (app 1062090), main branch without mods. Examples use Folktails, Plains' default starting location, Normal and a new survival game with droughts and badtides. Faction, map and difficulty differences are distinguished separately.

Verification scope: Official main-branch Update 1.1 released on 2026-09-03 was checked. Experimental fixes dated 2026-09-22 and 10-01 are not assumed applied to main. Internal build numbers and actual saves are untested. Building values were compared between current individual wiki entries and official update history.

Sources checked: 2026-10-04

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36 / 36 rows

Manage river water separately from tank Water

First distinguish missing terrain water from failed drinking-water production or transport. A visible blue river does not help an intake that cannot reach it. Conversely, accessible tank Water remains drinkable after the river dries.

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Manage river water separately from tank Water: 5 entries
What to inspect	Purpose	Why it decreases or stops	First display to open
Clean terrain water	Irrigation, intake and water-wheel flow	Outflow, evaporation, pumping or stopped inflow	Surface, irrigated ground, intake and Stream Gauge
The Water good	Drinking and consumption by compatible facilities	Beaver or facility consumption and transfers to other districts	Water stocks and district Goods statistics
Tank capacity	Maximum storage	Empty capacity is not a reserve. A different good setting does not accept Water.	Select the tank and read assigned good and current quantity.
Water inside a pump	Evidence that pumping is working	Full output awaiting transport, or production stopped by intake or staffing	The pump's 15-unit output buffer
Badwater	A separate liquid and good, also used for later materials	Mixes with clean water and harms soil or beavers	Water-quality display and Badwater storage assignment

Drinking tanks do not irrigate terrain. Discharge, formerly Fluid Dump, returns water to terrain but consumes stored Water; keep its balance separate from drinking reserves.

Diagnose a stopped Water Pump

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Diagnose a stopped Water Pump: 7 entries
Symptom	Source, level and storage checks	Required building or action	Success check	Setting differences
The pump is disconnected.	Is there a continuous path to the District Center?	Connect the land-side entrance.	Disconnected warning disappears.	Platforms need their own paths.
No beaver is working.	Pause state and actual staff	Raise water jobs' employment priority.	A worker arrives and production begins.	Desired count alone does not mean staffed.
Water is visible but unreachable.	Does the pipe reach, and is its underside blocked?	Consider a lower intake site or a pump with sufficient reach.	The intake warning clears and Water increases.	Ordinary pump: two levels; Iron Teeth deep pump: six
Only the pump is full.	Internal Water and tank good, space and paths	Prepare Water storage and an output route.	Internal stock moves into the tank.	Basic acceptance works before adding haulers.
A red river slows production.	Contamination at the intake	Protect clean reservoirs. Distinguish ordinary and mechanical pump purposes.	Check clean inflow and Water-good production separately.	Ordinary pump efficiency falls with contamination.
Levels keep falling during drought.	Outlet loss, evaporation and pumping	Review unnecessary releases and reduce intake if drinking reserves suffice.	Watch both reservoir loss and tank consumption.	Required reserves vary with drought length, terrain and population.
Still stopped after resuming	Time pause, facility pause and automation On/Off	Clear manual pause and check configuration state.	Work continues at normal speed.	Inspect manual P pausing and automation separately.

Adding a pump higher up does not increase intake reach. Water remaining at a deep reservoir's bottom can be beyond an ordinary pump placed above it.

Estimate drinking reserves from population × supply interruption

This example assumes Normal-equivalent 100% consumption, fixed population and no interim supply. Average drinking use is approximately 70 ÷ 33 = 2.12 units per beaver per day. Drinking times, population, facility use, transport and restart delays vary, so the exact result is not a safe reserve guarantee.

Open Goods statistics in the 1.1 Settlement Panel and inspect Water stock, production and consumption. Match district versus global scope too.
If the consumption multiplier differs from Normal, prioritize observed use. After changing population or facilities, record the new trend.
Check not only storage capacity but whether pumps and hauling can fill it before the dangerous season.

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Estimate drinking reserves from population × supply interruption: 5 entries
Estimate item	Assumption in this example	Calculation or action	Interpretation
Population	Hypothetical 12 beavers, adults and children combined	Substitute your current population.	This does not claim the default starting count is 12.
Supply interruption	Hypothetical five days	Include supply restart time as well as the drought or badtide forecast.	Five days is not every difficulty's dry-season duration.
Basic drinking requirement	12×5×70÷33	Approximately 127.3, rounded up to 128 units	Excludes facility consumption and contingency reserves.
Hypothetical storage using only Small Tanks	30 capacity each	Five give 150 capacity. Check that they are actually full.	150 capacity differs from 150 stored Water.
Additional requirement	Facility use, population growth and restart delays	Use 1.1 statistics and stock decline to add a margin.	No fixed one-tank population guarantees permanent stability.

This is editorial arithmetic, not measurements from a 12-beaver, five-day playthrough. Old-save statistics start recording after playing on 1.1 and do not reconstruct past consumption.

Inspect exits and low banks before a first reservoir

Blocking a river raises upstream levels. Inspect low escape routes and full-reservoir overflow destinations, not just pumps and fields. One low side route can drain water at a shallower level than expected.

Pause and trace upstream from the site. Locate fields to preserve, pump entrances, homes and low banks.
Choose a narrow section requiring few materials. Ensure builders can reach both banks and the planned sites without stranding themselves behind the final row.
Even with Dams or Levees, leave an outlet to safe downstream ground. Do not direct Badwater overflow toward homes or clean-water fields.
Watch construction and rising levels at low speed. Inspect side banks, entrances and downstream supply as well as the barrier itself.
If a Stream Gauge is available, record depth, flow and contamination. Compare the same point before and during drought to judge when intake becomes unreachable.
Expand one level at a time and check whether the new water level floods paths or entrances. A completed tall wall alone is not success.

A Dam's 0.65 overflow height does not guarantee a maximum water surface during flow. Heavy inflow raises levels; judge actual current and safe overflow rather than treating it as universal.

Choose water structures by purpose

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Choose water structures by purpose: 7 entries
Water-control structure	Placement conditions	Settings and checks	Limitations
Dam: a low barrier	River section to retain and a safe overflow route	Water above 0.65 passes over it. Paths can be placed on top.	No manual level control; excessive inflow and low banks need separate handling.
Levee: a watertight wall	Place without gaps on terrain or compatible supports.	Stack to raise the wall; inspect escape routes above and beside it.	Blocking every outlet can flood unintended areas.
Floodgate: adjustable overflow level	A location retaining upstream water and releasing downstream	The single-height model adjusts from 0 to 1 in 0.05 steps. Check synchronized neighbors too.	No path on top. Water above the setting passes, unlike a constant-flow device.
Fill Valve: maintain downstream depth	Check flow direction and the downstream bed.	Set target downstream depth. With signals, inspect both On and Off.	It does not alone guarantee upstream reserves or contamination blocking.
Discharge: return stored Water	A receiving enclosure on the outlet side, path, worker and Water good	Check Water use and receiving pool level.	Consumes drinking reserves; placing a tank is not a substitute.
Mechanical Pump: move liquid	Intake and outlet clearance plus power	Match 1.1 names and costs; check input/output levels and supplied HP.	Does not produce the Water good. It cannot replace the first drinking pump.
Compact Mechanical Pump: pump through a wall	Inspect placement as a separate building introduced in 1.1.	A separate 700 HP facility from the ordinary Mechanical Pump	Do not confuse the older pump's cost changes with this model.

Downstream does not mean the bottom of the screen. Use placement orientation and actual flow. Ordinary paths or platforms do not substitute for watertight walls or floors.

Adjust floodgates gradually after checking synchronization

Before changing anything, check upstream and downstream levels, entrances and pumps. Separate saves before major diversions can help compare designs.
Select the floodgate and inspect adjacent-gate synchronization. If another outlet moves with it, separate the settings if needed.
Change the retained level and inspect both sides at normal speed. Single-height 0.05 increments allow fine adjustment, but safe height depends on inflow and terrain.
Lowering a gate affects upstream intake and irrigation. After watering downstream, also check upstream pump reach and irrigated ground.
Recheck when a new season or expansion changes inflow. Before leaving a fixed setting, understand the full-reservoir outlet and emergency shutdown.

No universal 0.65 or 0.95 setting applies to all maps. Bed height and low ground across the river affect results as well as the configured value.

Droughts and badtides require different protection

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Droughts and badtides require different protection: 6 entries
Stage	Drought check	Badtide check	Next action
Before arrival	Reachable intake level and drinking reserves	Inflow into clean reservoirs and Badwater diversion route	Inspect Water stocks, forecast, intakes and overflow.
Immediately after onset	Is water wasted through outlets after ordinary sources stop?	Does Badwater keep entering the clean side?	Use level and quality to switch routes.
During the event	Rate of loss through evaporation and pumping	Does the diversion overflow back into clean water?	Record stored Water and terrain water separately.
Fields turn yellow.	Have they left the irrigated area?	Has contamination removed fertile ground?	Check quality and elevation before merely adding more water.
After normal weather returns	Wait for water to travel from source to pump.	Check that contaminated channels and pools have flushed.	Do not reopen the clean-water valve solely because the date changed.
Prepare for the next cycle	Revise capacity from consumption and greatest level loss.	Fix blocked diversions or overflow routes.	Recalculate population growth and new facility consumption too.

A taller drought dam alone does not complete badtide preparation. Separate retaining water from excluding contamination. If badtides are disabled, simplify the plan for that setting.

Do not confuse depth, flow and quality

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Do not confuse depth, flow and quality: 6 entries
Visible state	Possible mistaken assumption	Display to inspect	Direction of the fix
A wheel sits in a deep pool.	More water must mean more power.	Horizontal current under the axle and supplied HP	Check direction, flow route and shaft connection.
A river remains, but the pump is empty.	Visible water must be reachable.	Intake reach and placement height	Move intake to a reachable location.
A roof covers a channel.	Evaporation must stop.	Water-level trend at the same location	Consider capacity, replenishment and shape rather than relying on a cover.
Fields are dry beside a river.	Adjacent ground must be irrigated.	Irrigated area, quality and height difference	Plant within actual fertile ground or reposition clean water.
Flooding occurs with the same gate setting.	Matching the number alone is sufficient.	Bed, inflow, side outlets and low banks	Review elevation and flow routes together.
The wheel turns, but the Lumber Mill stops.	Only water shortage can be responsible.	Shaft continuity, demanded HP and input/output	Fix power connections and materials separately.

For measurement comparisons, use the same place, weather and pump operation. Terrain depth and units of the Water good are different; do not directly add one tank to one level of a pool.

Frequently asked questions

Does a tank beside a field irrigate it?

No. Tanks store the Water good. Fields need irrigation from clean terrain water or equivalent. If using Discharge, manage consumed drinking stocks and receiving levels too.

Why will a pump not draw remaining water below it?

Check reach from placement to water surface. Folktails ordinary pumps have a depth of two; Iron Teeth deep pumps reach six. Inspect paths, workers, pause state and full output separately.

Can I immediately reconnect the clean reservoir after a badtide?

Badwater may remain upstream or in channels. Check intake and inflow quality before switching back, rather than relying on the calendar alone.

I cannot find the old Sluice

In 1.1, Sluices are removed and old-save examples become Fill Valves. Review downstream-depth control and contamination detection. Do not assume old Sluice settings transfer unconditionally.

Are water wheels always unusable during drought?

They need flow. A still pool after natural inflow stops supplies no power, but a design releasing reservoir water can create current. Watch remaining drinking and irrigation reserves as it spends water.

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Based on site-wide views, captured July 6, 2026 (previous 28 days plus capture day).