Mechanical Fluid Pump

The Mechanical Fluid Pump is a building that moves fluid from one side to the other rather than producing drinkable water. It pumps non-potable water (badwater and clean water alike) through connected pipes, with the intake and discharge on opposite faces. The pump draws water up to a maximum intake depth of 4 tiles and will cease pumping if the water level on the discharge side exceeds 0.9 depth units. When discharging into a one-tile-wide canal, the pump produces a flow of 0.5 cubic meters per second (cms). The pump’s lower section also functions as a three-block levee, physically blocking water in the tiles it occupies.

The Mechanical Fluid Pump requires gears, treated planks, and metal blocks to construct. Historically the build cost was 100 Gears, 50 Treated Planks, and 50 Metal block and it required 5000 SP to unlock; later updates reduced the construction cost to 50 Gears, 25 Treated Planks, and 25 Metal Blocks and lowered the SP unlock cost to 2500 SP. Gears are produced in a gearworks, treated planks are crafted in a sawmill, and metal blocks are made in a foundry. When placing pipes for the pump, the blocks under the pipes must be at a lower elevation than the pump itself.

The pump integrates with the fluid and pipe systems: pipe run length was increased to a maximum of 5 tiles (up from 3), and power shafts can connect from the front, back, or bottom as well as the sides. The pump moves the existing fluid volume; contamination in source water will mix with clean water along normal fluid-simulation rules, so pumped water can carry contamination downstream.

• Place the intake at a depth no deeper than 4 tiles below intake level to ensure the pump can draw water.
• Avoid pumping into a reservoir that can exceed 0.9 depth on the discharge side, or the pump will stop automatically.
• Use the pump’s levee-like lower blocks to help shape small channels or block flow while building.
• When routing pipes, respect the 5-tile maximum pipe length and ensure supporting blocks under pipes are at lower elevation than the pump placement.
• Be aware that pumped water can carry badwater contamination; design intake positions (surface vs deeper) carefully to reduce contamination risk, and combine pumps with dams, levees, and floodgates to control polluted flows.
• For reliable operation during droughts, locate pumps at deeper reservoir points so they keep functioning as overall water levels fall.