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Developed by Colossal Order in 2015, Cities: Skyline is a realistic simulation game loved by players around the globe. The game allows people to be creative as they build a mega-city from scratch. Like in the real world, every city in Cities: Skyline requires electricity to thrive and making a dam is one way to solve power issues early on in this game. Needless to say, it is annoying to see Cities: Skylines dam not working.
A Few Fixes
- Dams should be located on river paths with fast-flowing water. That lets the reservoirs fill up quickly and deliver water at high speeds to turn the power plant turbines. The rate at which water enters the Dam should be higher than the rate it is leaving to keep the water flowing indefinitely.
- It’s best to set up dams in narrow paths where they can fill up the whole area and prevent some of the water from flowing in other directions.
- For your information, if you allow water to enter dams to the point of overflowing, they won’t work. Therefore, it’s wise to refrain from placing dams too high. Aside from that, if possible, you should make use of short dams.
Cities Skylines Dam Not Working: Suspects
As mentioned, Skylines is a realistic simulation game where decisions you make come with similar consequences as in the real world. Regarding Cities: Skylines dam not working, the causes and fixes are outlined below:
- The elevation of the dam may be too high above the ground so it takes the river a long time to fill it.
- The river path where the Dam is located is too wide; thus the river is flowing in other directions, making it difficult for the dam to fill up.
- The dam was placed in an area where water flow is insufficient.
The Correct Way To Play The Game
Empty Sewage Downstream Via Water Pump
Waste management is a critical aspect of this game: you will have to dump sewage into the river but note that the same river may double as a source of freshwater. To avoid mixing fresh and polluted water, place your intake pipe where fresh water is upstream and place the sewage pipe downstream.
Use Grid For Planning Layout
For smooth planning and development, you should take advantage of the grid while drawing the layout of your city. If you are to design based on the environment, you will be constrained by features such as hills, mountains, rivers, etc. Therefore, it is best to use the grid reference until you know how to use the environment.
Create Multiple Landfill Sites And Incinerator
Instead of setting up a central point in the outskirts of town where garbage trucks go to offload trash, it would be more efficient to have several spots nearby. That’s going to reduce the traffic caused by garbage trucks. Furthermore, after you acquire the incinerator, you can use it to burn the trash and generate power simultaneously. (Yourdoctors.online)
Only Offer Essential Services
As a new player, you may be tempted to offer every service as they become available. However, doing so could make you end up spending to provide things that are not in demand. Watch out for bubbles above buildings to know the service required and dedicate resources to them
Build A Series Of Clinics
It is good to have an enormous hospital but you should consider building several small clinics around town. That eases the movement of ambulance services to transport patients to get help.
Separate Industrial From Residential Areas
You may be tempted to keep everything close together for management’s sake but industrial areas must be kept away from where people live. Industries release pollutants that reduce the quality of life of those living around them. (messinascatering.com) Also, the trucks carrying goods in and out of industries could cause traffic congestion.
Know The Locations Of Resources
The resources in Cities: Skylines and their location can be seen on the map. Making use of that knowledge from the get-go should help you plan better and develop faster. Please take note of the valuable areas so you can develop them at the right time.
Dedicate Space For Road Upgrades
As you progress in the game, the city population will get larger and the old roads will become inadequate. Hence, from the beginning, you must give space for road expansion. During road expansion, residential buildings inside the zone will be demolished. For good measure, take note of roads that will likely expand in the future so you can mark the areas around them as unzoned.
Set Up Paths To Connect Places
Most citizens opt to walk from one place to another, especially if the distance isn’t much. Create footpaths throughout the city that citizens can use. That helps to reduce the traffic on the main road
Construct Multiple Routes For Trucks To The Highway
Trucks constitute a majority of traffic problems so it is a good idea to give them routes that lead from industrial areas directly to the highway. By doing so, you could get the trucks to avoid residential areas with their narrow roads.
How Much Power Does The Hydropower Plant Generate In The Cities: Skylines?
In Skylines, hydropower plant is a power-generating structure that produces 0-1600 MW in use. The plant is unlocked once players meet the Small City milestone and it must be built over a river.
Why Is My Hydropower Plant Not Working?
For your hydropower plant to work in Cities: Skylines, you must place it in between two cliffs where water flows through it with a strong current. The water level should reach the top of the dam for power to be generated.
Why Are My Industry And Commercial Demand Bars Empty?
If your Commercial and Industry demand bars are empty, there is a chance the function has become congested and out of balance. One explanation is the zoning of too many industrial, commercial and offices.
What Do I Need To Build Hydropower Plants?
To build hydropower plants, you need to have rivers, dams and turbines. The river is the water source, dams act as reservoirs to store water and the turbines spin as water passes through them to generate electricity. (provigil)


Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s.
Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he’d stop emailing them asking for more work. Since 2019, he started providing game reviews & tips for Grateful Dead Game. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He’s also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.