Given that there are already waterborne diseases in the game, it would add a layer of realism to have pollution impact water sources. Two main sources of water-pollutants already exist in game: graveyards and industrial activity.
Initial placement of a graveyard proximal to a well could be dangerous for the settlement. Perhaps this impact wanes over time after the graveyard is full and the bodies are more completely decomposed.
Similarly, polluting industries could also create impacts on water sources much like how they impact the desirability of the land.
These changes would need to come with some way to designate wells for industrial/fire-fighting uses vs. potable water for the villagers to drink and cook with. I would suggest a hierarchical system where villagers would only use the polluted sources for domestic uses if under extreme stressors (like in heatwaves if there are not enough other potable wells, or if the other wells have run dry). The effects (disease potential) could come as a random chance depending on the level of pollution to the well - a highly polluted well that is close to the industrial area or next to a graveyard would lead to a very high probability of disease, while wells that are less polluted would have lower associated probabilities.
I’m not sure how practical this would be to enact in the game. Saying that there are wells specifically for industry, and others for consumption, won’t work depending on the underlying water supply. The community where I actually live, several times larger than my current 900 pop Farthest Frontier town, is a mixture of rural and suburbs, industry, farms, and residential. We all draw water from the same giant aquifer. There is no way to choose a different water supply. Well, unless you pipe in the water.
*** side note. Being able to build aquifers in FF would be really cool !
I agree that graveyards and industries, as well as farms and human compost, could play a part in potability of water, depending on the local water tables. However, since we have no way of knowing the local water tables when we start a game, it would have to be some sort of random affect.
Keep in mind that having graveyards and industries near wells could have no affect at all. The slope of the land, whether you are on bedrock or limestone, soil composition, can all have an affect on how water seeps ( or doesn’t ) into the water table.
I think it would be a more realistic feature if water potability was something else we had to be concerned about for our village. I just think it might be more of a headache than it is worth.
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.