When building and managing your very own city, one of the most important things to take care of is your water supply. If you don’t have a proper sewage system in place, you may have a Cities: Skylines 2 water pollution problem on your hands. This guide will aim to fix your city’s water issues or avoid them altogether.
The sequel has many different features for players to get lost in, like managing the transportation system or choosing an aesthetic for their buildings. These are only a couple of examples, so you’re definitely going to need to do some prioritization.
At the top of that priority list should be tackling the Cities: Skylines 2 water pollution issue, otherwise you could end up with a city full of sick citizens.
What causes water pollution in Cities: Skylines 2?
There are a lot of different factors that can contribute to water pollution in Cities: Skylines 2. For example, sewage is often a big problem, as well as industrial buildings. Let’s take a look in more detail at some of the more common ones.
Sewage
Every building will produce sewage, so your city will need a pipe system to direct all that waste to a designated area. Having an ineffective sewage system will result in your water supply getting contaminated.
Industrial buildings
While not as impactful as a sub-standard sewage system, placing industrial buildings near bodies of water could also lead to polluted waters. When placing an industrial building on the map, it will be surrounded by a circle. Bodies of water within that circle will eventually be contaminated by the waste produced by the building.
Garbage landfills
Just like with industrial buildings, a poorly placed garbage landfill can contribute to water pollution. It will also have a circle that indicates how far it should be from a body of water.
Ground Pollution
A new source of water will be added to Cities: Skylines 2 in the form of groundwater. These are underground water reserves that your city can access through special water pumping facilities. Groundwater can become contaminated if the ground above them is polluted.
How to fix water pollution in Cities: Skylines 2
Here are some helpful tips to solve water pollution and give back to your citizens some clean water.
- Redirect waste through pipes.
- Make sure pumping stations and water treatment plants are positioned properly.
- Deploy floating garbage collectors.
- Upgrade your city with eco-friendly options.
- Remove the source of pollution and let nature run its course.
Though these methods have proven effective in reducing water pollution levels in the first Cities: Skylines, the best approach would still be to plan ahead and prevent your water from getting contaminated. Before you start building your metropolis, scout out possible water sources and plan your city layout from there.
And that’s it for Cities: Skylines 2 water pollution. If you’re looking to play this city management simulator on PC, don’t forget to check its system requirements.