Why do I run into aquifers EVERYWHERE I try to dig?

[7WIZARD7]

I've gone through and abandoned several forts out of frustration due to having encountered aquifers nearly every. single. time I try digging down, and I can never dig for the materials required in order to get the water out.

I feel like "light aquifer" is a huge understatement. I just want to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dig down bro

[Gosera]

You do not haft to embark on locations with aquifers and infact you can turn them off in the ini if you hate them, other then that you can use wood, smooth the walls and could prepare carefuly and bring extra material to deal with it

[High Lord Denix]

There is a mod to turn them off or you can do it yourself in the files, there are two types of dwarf fortress players, the ones that play with aquifers turned off and the psychopaths that learn to harness the unlimited power of water, there's no shame in either option.

[Deviant]

You can make a screw pump out of wood.

Wooden block, enormous wooden corkscrew, wooden pipe section.

[AlP]

Originally posted by MOON WIZARD !:

Why do I run into aquifers EVERYWHERE I try to dig?

Because an aquifer exists in the entire layer of the material it's in. If there's an aquifer in your clay loam, all the clay loam in your biome will have that aquifer, no matter where you dig.

Originally posted by MOON WIZARD !:

I feel like "light aquifer" is a huge understatement. I just want to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dig down bro

You feel wrong, because a light aquifer produces water extremely slowly.

You dig a staircase through one layer, dig out the walls around the staircase, and build your own walls in their place, that blocks the aquifer. You dig stairs on the next aquifer layer, dig out walls around it, and repeat for every aquifer layer.

[Philtre]

Originally posted by MOON WIZARD !:

I've gone through and abandoned several forts out of frustration due to having encountered aquifers nearly every. single. time I try digging down, and I can never dig for the materials required in order to get the water out.

I feel like "light aquifer" is a huge understatement. I just want to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dig down bro

Don't embark into areas that have aquifers, then. You can use the "find embark location" filter to locate aquifer-free areas.

[jeetrix]

its just an aquifier. punch through it, wall it off, be done with it.
if you feel it spans +20 Z levels on your location, dig somewhere else.

[Duuvian]

There is a search on the embark map that will filter out places that have aquifers if you set it that way. It should show green highlights on the map where there are places with no aquifers.

[Bralbaard]

A few versions ago there were no light aquifers and all aquifers were what now is called heavy, instantly filling with 7/7 water. The new aquifers are relatively easy to deal with.

[Rainbow Jeremy]

Light aquifer is very overrated as a danger and eventually is very useful to have, just take it one layer down at a time and either mine around your path down and wall up the surrounding tiles (this prevents leaking water) or smooth (if the adjacent tiles are stone, just as good as walling.)

[captainamaziiing]

A dowsing rod would be a nifty addition to early game surveying.

[Crow Daddy 69]

Just smooth the walls bro lmao

[Diarmuhnd]

Originally posted by MOON WIZARD !:

Why do I run into aquifers EVERYWHERE I try to dig?

Because you refuse to learn how to avoid aquifers before starting each new game.

Originally posted by MOON WIZARD !:

...
I feel like "light aquifer" is a huge understatement. I just want to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dig down bro

You can just dig down through a light aquifer, lol. Its so easy.

And if you really don't want to embark in an area with any beneficial aquifer then simply use the search tool on the world map before embarking to filter out both light and heavy aquifers so you ONLY see embark locations that do NOT have any aquifer. Or you could just use the community mod to remove them.

Or you can go watch the very short under 5 minute guides on youTube on how to deal with both types of aquifers.

Go dig a hole, diggy diggy hole. Good luck

[mudplayerx]

A lot of judgmental pricks in here. The game mechanics are set up to make a new player feel like an aquifier is a very bad thing to hit while mining.

[Diarmuhnd]

I was helpful and a jerk cheers

TBF: I used to be 'scared' of aquifers but then I took the time to watch, and read, how to deal with them. Now I use both light and heavy aquifers to power my fortresses, create misting wonders and underground lakes. I've even used aquifers to try and drown the magma sea and wash away invasions.

Where's my soap ... ?

[Darzan]

I think new players should be encouraged to play with light aquifer present, so they can learn how pass through it, it is really not so difficult. It is also infinitely useful resource. Then again, you can easily embark at location where at least one corner of map there is no aquifer present - usually it is mountainous regions.