Meghan Hodges
Cities Skylines 2 is a simulation game that involves tackling various forms of pollution, including air, ground, water, and noise pollution. Players must address these issues to prevent their citizens from falling ill and becoming upset. To check pollution levels, players can utilize the Info Views button, which provides information on average ground and drinking water pollution levels. Additionally, players should consider the impact of wind direction and strategically place polluting buildings and industries to minimize the spread of air pollution to residential areas. Water pollution can be addressed by building wastewater treatment plants or relocating sewage outlets away from water pumping stations. Ground pollution, although slow to accumulate, can be challenging to remove, emphasizing the importance of careful city planning.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Types of Pollution | Air, Ground, Water, Noise |
| Sources of Pollution | Dirty industries, wrongly placed sewage outlets, noisy schools, landfills, incinerators, etc. |
| Checking Water Pollution | Use the "Pollution" infographic in the "Info Views" menu to see average ground and drinking water pollution levels. Also, check if water towers or pumps are downstream from sewage drains. |
| Reducing Water Pollution | Build a wastewater treatment plant, or pay to export sewage water. |
| Reducing Air Pollution | Ensure good traffic flow, choose green energy, ban heavy traffic and combustion engines from residential areas, place polluting buildings downwind and away from residential zones. |
| Reducing Ground Pollution | Avoid creating industrial zones near the city center, as ground pollution decreases very slowly. |
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What You'll Learn
Check for water pollution
Water pollution in Cities: Skylines is typically caused by sewage, dirty buildings, or industrial areas placed near groundwater deposits. To check for water pollution, look out for the following signs:
- Visual cues: Water pollution in the game is often indicated by a purple colour in the water. While this can be changed via game mods, the presence of any discolouration in the water could indicate pollution.
- Population health: If your population is dying or struggling to find drinking water, it could be due to water pollution. Ensure your water pumping stations and sewage stations are on different bodies of water, and check for ground pollution near water sources or storage facilities.
- Water flow: Pay attention to the direction of water flow, as pollution spreads downstream from the source. If the water flow isn't strong, pollution can start moving upstream towards your pumps.
- Proximity to pollution sources: Ground pollution near water sources can contaminate them. Ensure that sewage pipes are far away from water pipes to prevent cross-contamination.
- Pumps and treatment plants: While pumps can help suck up dirty water, they can also pull pollution towards them if there are enough pumps or if the water isn't moving. Upgrading to better water sewage treatment plants can help reduce the amount of pollution in the water.
If you suspect water pollution, try moving your water towers and pumps away from polluted areas and towards cleaner water sources. You can also build wastewater treatment plants to help manage water pollution.
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Reduce air pollution
While it's nearly impossible to rid your city of air pollution completely in Cities Skylines 2, there are several measures you can take to reduce it.
Firstly, ensure good traffic flow with as few traffic jams as possible. This will help reduce air pollution caused by vehicles. You can also implement district policies such as banning heavy traffic and combustion engines from residential areas using the "district tool" on your toolbar. Additionally, switch to electric buses and implement policies such as speed bumps to reduce air and noise pollution.
Another crucial step is to choose renewable and green energy sources over coal and gas power plants. Wind turbines are available right from the start of the game, making them an excellent option for clean energy.
When placing industrial zones and polluting buildings, try to locate them as far downwind as possible, preferably near the border of the map. This will help prevent air pollution from spreading to nearby residential areas.
As your city grows, you can also assign more commercial and office zones instead of industrial zones. This transition requires a high number of citizens and a more advanced economy with highly skilled workers.
Lastly, don't forget to consider the wind direction when dealing with air pollution. The wind direction indicates how pollution will spread across your city. You can view this information via the Air Pollution Info View, where small arrows show the wind direction.
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Manage ground pollution
Ground pollution in Cities Skylines 2 is a persistent issue that can have detrimental effects on your city and its citizens. While it builds up very slowly, it also decreases at an extremely slow rate. Here are some strategies to manage ground pollution and keep your city thriving:
Strategic Industrial Zone Placement
When starting a new city, try to avoid creating industrial zones near the city centre. Instead, consider building industrial areas further away from residential and commercial districts, preferably near the border of your map. This will help prevent the concentration of ground pollution in highly populated areas.
High-Tech Industries
As your city progresses, focus on transitioning to high-tech industries. These industries produce significantly less pollution compared to traditional industrial zones. To facilitate this transition, ensure that your city has a high education level, which will attract high-tech businesses.
Green Spaces
While adding green spaces like trees may not directly reduce ground pollution, they can help improve the overall air quality in your city and provide aesthetic benefits.
Sewage Management
Proper sewage management is crucial to preventing ground and water pollution. Build wastewater treatment plants to purify water before pumping it back into the system. If you don't have access to treatment plants, you can either pay to export sewage water or use water drain pipes leading into a river or sea. Ensure that sewage outlets are placed downstream, away from water pumping stations, to prevent water pollution that can make your citizens sick.
The Eden Project Monument
Consider constructing the Eden Project monument, which can prevent pollution from spreading to neighbouring buildings. This will contain pollution within the industrial areas and help maintain higher land values in the rest of your city.
District Specialization
When you reach the Worthy Village milestone, you can create specialized districts. Focus on farming and forestry industries, as these do not cause pollution and can help meet the demand for industry zoning while preserving the environment.
While it is challenging to eliminate ground pollution entirely without the use of mods or DLC buildings, implementing these strategies will help you manage pollution levels and create a healthier and more sustainable city for your citizens.
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Understand noise pollution
In Cities Skylines, noise pollution is an inevitable part of building your city, but it's important to manage it so that your citizens don't get sick or abandon their homes. Noise pollution is caused by loud sounds from various sources, including wind turbines, traffic, large roads, schools, non-residential zones, and public transport stations. The severity of noise pollution depends on the type of building or zone, with some areas, such as industrial zones, being much louder than others.
To check the noise pollution levels in your city, click on the informational panel on the upper left-hand side of the screen. This will bring up a panel with different icons, and you can click on the headphones icon to see the levels of noise pollution throughout your city.
While you can't completely eliminate noise pollution, there are several strategies to reduce it. One way is to use office zoning as a noise buffer between residential and high-commercial zones. You can also encourage less driving by implementing bicycle lanes. Trees placed alongside roads and highways can also help cut down on noise pollution, but you'll need a lot of them to make a difference.
Additionally, you can take measures to reduce air pollution, which will indirectly help with noise pollution. Ensure good traffic flow and choose green energy sources like wind turbines over coal and gas power plants. You can also ban heavy traffic and combustion engines from residential areas using the "district tool". As your city grows, you can assign more commercial and office zones instead of industrial zones.
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Place polluting buildings
In Cities: Skylines, pollution is an inevitable part of the game, and it comes in many forms: air pollution, ground pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution. While it is impossible to completely avoid pollution without using DLC buildings or special mods, implementing the right policies and making the right building choices can keep pollution to a minimum.
When placing polluting buildings, it is important to consider the wind direction. Try to place polluting buildings as far downwind as possible, preferably near the border of the map. This will help to prevent air pollution from blowing towards nearby residential areas. If you have already built an industrial zone in a less ideal location, consider demolishing it and rebuilding it further away from residential zones.
Another option is to allow regular industrial buildings to upgrade. Upgraded industry buildings tend to produce less pollution than level one versions. Additionally, when placing industrial zones, try to keep them away from residential zones to minimise noise pollution. Even farming and forest zones produce noise pollution, which can annoy and sicken citizens.
To reduce noise pollution in residential areas, avoid building too many houses on the same road, especially high-density housing. Instead, place parks and pedestrian streets between blocks and only allow a few commercial and office buildings near residential areas. You can also create districts and implement a heavy traffic ban in these areas. Once you unlock road services, you can place sound barriers along highways or create underground roads to reduce noise pollution.
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Frequently asked questions
To check for water pollution, you can use the ["pollution" infographic] to see the actual pollution levels. In the top left of the screen, there is a button that allows you to select and view pollution levels. You can also check your water pipes and water pumps to ensure they are not near sewage treatment areas or downstream from sewage drains.
To reduce water pollution, you can build a wastewater treatment plant to purify water and pump it back into the system. Alternatively, you can pay to export sewage water or use a sewage outlet leading into a river or sea, although this will still pollute the water.
Air pollution is caused by various factors, including landfills, industrial zones, and the wind carrying pollution from these sources to residential areas. To check for air pollution, you can use the in-game ["pollution" infographic], which shows average pollution levels.
To reduce air pollution, ensure good traffic flow and choose green energy sources over coal and gas power plants. Use the "district tool" to ban heavy traffic and combustion engines from residential areas. Place polluting buildings downwind and away from residential zones.
Ground pollution builds up slowly and decreases slowly. Use the ["pollution" infographic] to check pollution levels and move your water pumps away from polluted areas.
