Building an efficient Water System in SimCity 2000

Contributor/author(s): Wren Weburg

For those of you that insist of maintaining a fully watered city, and I am one of them, there is a method that greatly increases a pump's efficiency. This is done by placing a drop of water adjacent to the pump. Each drop of water added to the pump's 8 sides is like adding a whole other pump, if not better. What, then, is the best way to make use of this trick? Well, many players have come up with a specific pattern of pumps and water tiles, but the most efficient pattern is one where the number of pumps roughly equals the number of water tiles. I have yet to see a pattern than can pump more water in the same amount of space than the one detailed below.

2D overhead view	Actual screen shot

Note that the middle strip of pumps in the 2D overhead view have 6 tiles of water servicing them. When actually laying this pattern down, the length and width can be virtually any size to suit the needs of a city.

This pattern has been tested side-by-side with virtually every other possible pattern, and consistently pumps 33% more water than others. Note that only fresh water will increase a pump's productivity. Salt water will not, although salt water is required for desalinization plants.

See also
Efficient Power & Water method