D&D General A Question about Waterdeep - Where does the Drinking Water come from?

[Demetrios1453]

Ok, been noodling around with dumpster diving Forgotten Realms and specifically Waterdeep lore. And, I was planning something for use in Waterdeep. I wanted to introduce the idea of Battagliola (https://www.thearma.org/essays/BridgeWars.htm#.ZF7dt85ByUk) or stick fighting/mock combat on bridges in Venice in the late Middle Ages. But, there's a problem. There are no rivers in Waterdeep. None. In a city of several hundred thousand people, there are no actual freshwater sources.

Now, again, noodling around the web, the answer that was given is that Waterdeep has lots of wells. This is a huge problem though for a city that's (mostly) on sea level, any water in a well would likely be salt water. You don't get wells in ports. ((Note, there is an equal problem with the notion that Waterdeep has sewers - but, that's a problem for another day)). So, where do all these people get their water from?

Seems a bit of an oversight really. After all, Baldur's Gate has a honking big river, and so does Neverwinter. But, Waterdeep is nowhere near an actual fresh water source.

First, most of Waterdeep is on a plateau (everything north of the harbor district) that's somewhat above sea level.

Secondly, Waterdeep basically is at the same latitude and has the same climate as Seattle - perhaps even more stormy. So the plentiful rainwater can be stored in tanks or cisterns in significant amounts.

And the final reason is Undermountain. Millennia of dwarven and wizardly engineering projects means that several freshwater rivers flow below the city, some below sea level. Skullport is several levels down, but it's on a freshwater river called the Sargauth. Smugglers go from Skullport upward through magical locks on the river to reach the sea. Now, digging wells into Undermountain might not seem to be the best idea, but sometimes unpleasant but necessary things need to be done.

 

[Parmandur]

The food is already coming from Druid magitech, wouldn't shock me if all those Temples are making water all day, every day.

 

[Hussar]

First, most of Waterdeep is on a plateau (everything north of the harbor district) that's somewhat above sea level.

Secondly, Waterdeep basically is at the same latitude and has the same climate as Seattle - perhaps even more stormy. So the plentiful rainwater can be stored in tanks or cisterns in significant amounts.

And the final reason is Undermountain. Millennia of dwarven and wizardly engineering projects means that several freshwater rivers flow below the city, some below sea level. Skullport is several levels down, but it's on a freshwater river called the Sargauth. Smugglers go from Skullport upward through magical locks on the river to reach the sea. Now, digging wells into Undermountain might not seem to be the best idea, but sometimes unpleasant but necessary things need to be done.

You realize that Seattle is on a massive freshwater lake right? And has numerous rivers running through it? This is kinda my point. You generally never have large cities that don't have ANY rivers.

I mean, never minding drinking water and whatnot. How do you move goods throught the city? All that stuff that is traded - this IS a major trading point after all, must then travel overland? How can you be a major trading point with no water ways?

 

[bloodtide]

The list is:

1.Wells in and around the city. A lot of fresh water is brought into the city by wagons everyday.

2.Waterdeep has a wet climate. It rains a lot. Nearly every building captures rain water.

3.The Underdark. There are some freshwater rivers under the city that feed pools and lakes and is pumped up to the surface.

4.There is a Water Portal that the city opens to magicaly bring fresh water from elsewhere. This public water goes through pipes and comes out of many of the fountains of the city.

5.Waterdeep has at least 100 or so 'hedge' non combat spellcasters that can create/make water is various ways. There are tons of 'weak' non combat magic items that can create/make water.

Also note that:
1.Most folk don't drink all that much water. Like most folk in the past, people drink all sorts of beverages that are not water.

2.Most folk in the past use 'black' or sea water for most things. Also cleaning things with sand.

 

[Hussar]

The list is:

1.Wells in and around the city. A lot of fresh water is brought into the city by wagons everyday.

2.Waterdeep has a wet climate. It rains a lot. Nearly every building captures rain water.

3.The Underdark. There are some freshwater rivers under the city that feed pools and lakes and is pumped up to the surface.

4.There is a Water Portal that the city opens to magicaly bring fresh water from elsewhere. This public water goes through pipes and comes out of many of the fountains of the city.

5.Waterdeep has at least 100 or so 'hedge' non combat spellcasters that can create/make water is various ways. There are tons of 'weak' non combat magic items that can create/make water.

Also note that:
1.Most folk don't drink all that much water. Like most folk in the past, people drink all sorts of beverages that are not water.

2.Most folk in the past use 'black' or sea water for most things. Also cleaning things with sand.

Yeah, a lot of that wouldn't work.

1. Bringing in water by wagon would never work. The average person still needs a gallon of water per day. Never minding that the thousands of horses you'd need to drag those wagons also need to be watered. It's not just people that drink water in a city.

2. Unless it rains practically several inches every single day, this again wouldn't work. The first dry spell and half the city dies. There's a reason you NEVER have major centers without rivers.

3. The Underdark thing I can kinda/sorta see - but, again, that's not very plausible. Pumped how?

4. This one I would buy. Straight up, "A wizard did it".

5. A 100 casters wouldn't even put the smallest dent in the water requirements for a city that size.

In response to the "Also note that"

1. The things that people drank instead of water? They are made of water. How much water do you think it requires to make a gallon of beer. It's a HELL of a lot more than a gallon of water - you need to water the plants that you use to make the beer, plus beer itself is almost entirely water. And you can't make beer from salt water or even dirty water.

2. Even ignoring the cleaning aspects. The population of a city is absolutely dwarfed by the population of animals in that city. For every man, woman and child, you have chickens, pigs, horses, goats and a shopping list of other animals. It's not like people didn't have livestock in the city. And, remember, there are NO RIVERS near Waterdeep. How do you have farms? And, after you have farms, how do you get the food INTO the city without a river?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

3. The Underdark thing I can kinda/sorta see - but, again, that's not very plausible. Pumped how?

4. This one I would buy. Straight up, "A wizard did it".

You don’t see the irony here?

Pumping water wasn’t even all that hard 2k years ago, I’m pretty sure that Waterdeep the city of magitech cn get water from an underground river into the city above, and into the soil of the farms, for that matter.


More importantly, vastly more importantly, like actually important while the rest of all of this is not, canon is an abyss. Walk away from it.

Waterdeep has a river cutting right from the nearest mountains through the landscape, through Waterdeep, big fracking waterfall off the cliff side into the sea. Done.

What’s weird to me is that the city with no surface level river is the one they call Waterdeep.


Also, goods can travel by wagon.

 

[Zardnaar]

You realize that Seattle is on a massive freshwater lake right? And has numerous rivers running through it? This is kinda my point. You generally never have large cities that don't have ANY rivers.

I mean, never minding drinking water and whatnot. How do you move goods throught the city? All that stuff that is traded - this IS a major trading point after all, must then travel overland? How can you be a major trading point with no water ways?

Aqueducts. Constantinople

 

[pukunui]

@Hussar: I agree that it would be more plausible for Waterdeep to be located a few miles to the east on the banks of the Dessarin River.

What’s weird to me is that the city with no surface level river is the one they call Waterdeep.

It’s named for its deep water harbor.


Does the 3.5e City of Splendors book cover this at all? Those older edition books are known for detailing every little nook and cranny of a setting.

Otherwise, perhaps someone with a Twitter account can ask Ed. He’s pretty good about answering. He once gave me a pretty comprehensive rundown of Waterdeep‘s weather, for instance. Alas, I no longer have a Twitter account.

EDIT: check out posts 12 and 16 in this Candlekeep forum thread: Candlekeep Forum - How does Waterdeep get fresh water?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

They collect the effluent and have a bunch of low level clerics constantly casting Purify Food and Drink on it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

You generally never have large cities that don't have ANY rivers.

A lot of large cities don't have visible rivers, because they have been built over long ago.