Water Source

Learn how to provide your SimCity 2000 city with a reliable water supply using pumps, ponds, and water towers. Maximize efficiency and avoid droughts!

Alright, let's talk about getting water for your city in SimCity 2000. It's pretty similar to how you handle power, so if you've got that down, this will be a breeze.

Your main tool here is the Water Pump. You'll want to build these along fresh-water shores or dedicate a good chunk of land just for them. If you've got a big plot of land set aside, the most efficient way to get the most water is to just cover the whole area with pumps. Honestly, filling up a whole dedicated zone with pumps will give you the biggest output compared to messing around with ponds.

Now, if your city is more integrated with the natural landscape, you'll want to be smart about using the water that's already there. Here are a few ways you can lay out your pumps:

• Layout 1:
  W W W W W W W W W
  W P W P W P W P W
  W W W W W W W W W
  (Note: You'll have to run power lines through the water here, which looks a bit odd, but it totally works!)
• Layout 2:
  W W W W W W W W W
  P P P P P P P P P
  W W W W W W W W W
• Layout 3:
  P P P P P P P P P
  P W P W P W P W P
  P P P P P P P P P

Sometimes, your water supply can get a bit wild, right? You might have huge surpluses one minute and then face a massive drought the next. To smooth things out, build some Water Towers. They're great for storing up that extra water when you have too much and then dispensing it when things get dry.

Finally, it's always a good move to build at least one Water-Treatment Plant. Don't stress too much about making sure every single drop of water goes through it before it gets to your Sims. As long as the plant is connected to your main water system, you're good to go.