Strategies For Reducing Water Pollution In Cities: A Comprehensive Guide

Water pollution in Cities: Skylines is mainly caused by sewage and industrial work. To prevent water pollution, it is ideal to zone industrial buildings away from bodies of water. To reduce water pollution, players can use structures that process and clean up waste, such as water pumping stations, or they can remove the sources of pollution and let the water clean itself over time. Water treatment plants, eco-friendly upgrades, and floating garbage collectors are also effective ways to reduce water pollution in the game.

Place water pumps upstream and water pipes downstream

To reduce water pollution in Cities: Skylines, it is crucial to understand the flow of water and the placement of water pumps and pipes. One effective strategy is to place water pumps upstream and water pipes downstream. Here's a detailed guide on this approach:

Understanding Water Flow

Before placing water pumps and pipes, it is essential to understand how water flows in the game. Water in Cities: Skylines flows downstream, as indicated by white arrows in the water and sewage information view. This dynamic plays a crucial role in ensuring your city's water supply remains clean and uncontaminated.

Placing Water Pumps Upstream

When placing water pumps, it is vital to position them upstream of any sewage drains or outlets. By doing so, you prevent the risk of sewage pollution contaminating your water supply. Water pumping stations should be built next to a natural water source, such as a river, and it is crucial to take note of the direction of water travel. Ensure that your pumping station is drawing freshwater and not contaminated water, as this can make your citizens sick.

Positioning Water Pipes Downstream

Once you have established the upstream location for your water pumps, it's time to lay out the water pipes. These pipes will carry the freshwater from the pumps to your city, providing a clean and healthy water supply for your citizens. The water pipes must be continuous and directly connected to the supply and drainage buildings. It is important to ensure that the pipes are laid out efficiently, minimising the distance between the water source and the city to reduce potential contamination points.

Treating Sewage and Preventing Pollution

While placing water pumps upstream helps prevent water pollution, it is also essential to treat sewage effectively. Sewage outlets should be placed downstream from the water intake to prevent accidental contamination of the water supply. Consider using sewage treatment plants, which process the sewage before disposal, reducing the amount of pollution released into the water. The "eco" versions of these plants, available with the "Green Cities" DLC, further reduce pollution output.

Additional Tips

• Avoid Ground Pollution: Water towers, which extract groundwater, must not be placed on polluted ground, as this will lead to contaminated water and sick citizens.
• Inland Water Treatment: If your map has limited access to bodies of water, consider using inland water treatment plants, which do not require a body of water to empty into. While these plants cause some ground pollution, they can be essential for cities with unique geographical features.
• Water Storage: The Tank Reservoir building, available with the Natural Disasters DLC, allows for excess water storage. This stored water can be utilised during disasters when water production may drop below demand.
• Floating Garbage Collectors: These can be used to filter waste from the water and speed up the natural recovery process.

Use water treatment plants to reduce water pollution

Water treatment plants are an effective way to reduce water pollution in Cities: Skylines. They are a sewage dumping system that purifies the water before it is released back into the environment, helping to reduce the negative impact of your city on the surrounding area.

Water treatment plants are unlocked once your city becomes a "Big City", and they function in a similar way to water drain pipes but with far greater benefits. They reduce water pollution by 85%, which is a significant improvement on untreated sewage, which can make your citizens sick and reduce land value in the affected areas.

Water treatment plants are more expensive to build and maintain and require more power than water drain pipes. However, they are worth the investment if your city is suffering from water pollution, and they can speed up the natural recovery process of a polluted area. They are particularly useful if you are unable to move your water drain pipes to a less sensitive area.

To maximise the effectiveness of water treatment plants, it is recommended to use them in conjunction with other strategies to reduce water pollution. For example, you can use them with floating garbage collectors, which are placed in the water to filter waste and further speed up the natural recovery process. You can also use eco-friendly upgrades, such as the eco water outlet, which produces less pollution.

In addition to the above, it is important to consider the placement of your water treatment plants. Ensure that they are not placed near industrial buildings or other pollution-inducing structures, as this can contaminate the water supply. It is also crucial to place your sewage outlets downstream from your water intake to avoid providing your citizens with polluted water.

By following these strategies and making use of water treatment plants, you can effectively reduce water pollution in Cities: Skylines and create a healthier and more sustainable environment for your citizens.

Use eco-friendly options to reduce pollution output

Water pollution in Cities: Skylines is a common issue that players face, and it can have negative consequences for your city, such as sick citizens and decreased land value. The good news is that there are several strategies you can employ to reduce water pollution and its impacts on your city. One effective approach is to utilise eco-friendly options that reduce pollution output.

Eco Water Outlet

The Eco Water Outlet is an upgraded, eco-friendly version of the basic water drain pipe. While it costs nearly twice as much to build and has a lower drainage capacity, it produces less pollution. This option is immediately available at the start of the game, making it a good investment if you anticipate water pollution becoming an issue.

Eco Water Treatment Plant

The Eco Water Treatment Plant is an eco-friendly alternative to the standard water treatment plant. It is available once your city grows into a "Capital City" and is around 60% more expensive to build. Despite the higher cost, it is more efficient, flushing out 94% of waste in sewage compared to 85% for the standard plant. It also costs less to maintain, though its power consumption is significantly higher.

Floating Garbage Collectors

Floating Garbage Collectors can be placed on water to filter waste and speed up the natural recovery process. They are costly at 50,000 credits each, but they can be moved to different polluted areas once they have cleaned up one section. For maximum effectiveness, cluster a few of these together in areas of high pollution.

Inland Water Treatment Plants

Inland Water Treatment Plants are another option to avoid dumping sewage into bodies of water. Both the standard and eco-friendly versions are available at the start of the game, with more advanced versions unlocking later. Using these inland options ensures that your water sources remain uncontaminated.

Additional Tips

• Strategic Placement: Keep water pumps and sewage plants separate and place them away from each other. Ensure that sewage outlets are downstream from water intake points to avoid providing polluted water to your citizens.
• Water Currents: Pay attention to the flow of water when placing buildings. Make sure that the current does not carry polluted water into a clean water pump.
• Map Outflow: If your map has an outflow off the edge of the map, place sewage pumps near the edge to take advantage of this. The sewage will be swept out of your city, minimising water pollution.
• Dump Sewage on Land: If your map has a limited water supply, consider dumping sewage on land. This will keep your water pollution-free, but ground pollution will still occur. Place land-based sewage outputs in already polluted areas, such as near landfills or industrial zones.
• Let Nature Take Its Course: If you're willing to wait, you can relocate sewage plants to another location and let nature remove the pollution over time. This process can be slow, so it's best used in less urgent situations.

By employing these eco-friendly options and strategies, you can effectively reduce water pollution output and minimise its negative impacts on your city in Cities: Skylines.

Use floating garbage collectors to filter waste from water

Floating garbage collectors are an effective way to reduce water pollution in Cities: Skylines. They are primarily used to clean up existing water pollution, and they can be moved to different areas as needed.

To use floating garbage collectors effectively, consider the following:

Capacity and Placement

Ensure that the capacity of the floating garbage collectors is higher than that of the sewage outlets. This will allow them to effectively reduce water pollution. If the capacity is insufficient, they will only deplete the existing pollution at a rate equal to their excess capacity. Place them strategically, taking into account the direction of water flow, to maximize their impact.

Cluster with Other Pollution Sources

Floating garbage collectors can be clustered together with other pollution sources, such as water drain pipes, to make it easier to place structures that fix the pollution. This approach creates a more significant pollution problem, but it can be more manageable due to the concentration of pollution sources.

Combine with Other Strategies

Using floating garbage collectors in conjunction with other strategies can be beneficial. For example, you can use them alongside bottlenecking pollution downstream, where pollution is concentrated in a specific area, making it easier to address with floating garbage collectors. Additionally, consider using eco-friendly upgrades and options, such as eco water outlets and the eco-version of the water treatment plant, to further reduce pollution.

Cost Considerations

It's important to note that floating garbage collectors are costly, with a single unit priced at 50,000 credits. Therefore, it may be necessary to balance their use with other strategies, especially if budget constraints are a factor.

By following these guidelines and strategically utilizing floating garbage collectors, you can effectively reduce water pollution in Cities: Skylines and promote a healthier environment for your citizens.

Use inland water treatment plants to avoid dumping sewage into bodies of water

Water pollution in Cities: Skylines is a common issue that players often face. The primary cause of water pollution is sewage, followed by industrial work or other pollution-producing structures that are too close to bodies of water. As a result of polluted water, citizens can become sick, and it can also negatively impact the natural fish population, which in turn hurts the fishing industry.

To avoid dumping sewage into bodies of water, it is recommended to use inland water treatment plants. These facilities process the sewage and dump it underground, preventing water pollution. Here are some detailed instructions on how to use inland water treatment plants to address water pollution:

Understanding the Basics

Inland water treatment plants are available from the start of the game and do not require a body of water to empty into. They are a type of sewage dumping system that helps reduce the environmental impact of your city. These plants can be placed anywhere in your city but should be kept away from water towers as they cause some ground pollution.

Placement and Strategy

When placing inland water treatment plants, it is crucial to consider their pollution radius. Ensure that you paint and build all pollution-producing industries and buildings away from bodies of water. Additionally, place the treatment plants upstream of any sewage drains to prevent water contamination. Repositioning your water drain pipes to less polluted areas can also help address water pollution without incurring high costs.

Upgrades and Eco-Friendly Options

As your city grows, you will unlock upgraded versions of the inland water treatment plants, such as the eco-version, which has better capabilities for reducing pollution. These upgraded plants may have higher construction and maintenance costs, but they are more efficient and produce less pollution.

Combining Strategies

To further reduce water pollution, you can combine the use of inland water treatment plants with other strategies. For example, you can use water pumping stations to draw clean water from a source, ensuring that the station is upstream of any sewage drains. Additionally, consider using floating garbage collectors to filter waste from the water and speed up the natural recovery process.

Additional Tips

• Cluster pollution sources close together to make it easier to place structures that fix pollution.
• Bottleneck pollution downstream by placing structures like floating garbage collectors where pollution is concentrated.
• Make use of polluted water by utilising hydropower plants or ocean thermal energy conversion plants that can generate power from water flow or temperature, regardless of pollution.

Frequently asked questions