Water Production



Hydration is essential to human survival, especially in a post-nuclear world. In the Fallout games, people seek out various methods of cleaning, storing, and producing water.

Background
Water is the essence of life, necessary for daily survival. In the wastelands, where most water is contaminated and needs to be purified (a simple, if tedious process), water merchants can hold the ultimate power.

Methods
In Fallout, it is the underlying theme of the Hub, which is the primary source of drinkable water for most cities, having access to a water tower and able to pump large quantities of it for sale. The tower was the cause of much strife in the city, as different merchant companies vied for control of it. Settlements usually have sources of water of their own (wells), but usually, they only cover the most basic of needs.

In Fallout 2, water availability and distribution are much less emphasized, except for Modoc, where a catastrophic drought has hit the town hard, putting on the brink of collapse, forcing it to forge an alliance with the Slags of Ghost Farm.

In Fallout 3, water availability is the underlying theme of the game, though portrayed in an inconsistent and counterfactual way (such as radiated water being impossible to treat, even though it's just a question of filtering it through uncontaminated sand). Pinkerton even mocks the Rivet City science team for being unable to "purify a little water."

Many major settlements are said to have a water purifier, like Megaton, however, the player is unable to access this purified water in any way. In fact, the only source of purified water in Megaton is the Robot Butler that comes with the player housing that can be acquired, who has a condensation unit that produces it. One of the few locations which seem to have a fully functional purifier prior to the activation of Project Purity is Tenpenny Tower, which has sinks which dispense pure, rad-free water.

In Fallout: New Vegas, water is an important commodity and one of the catalysts for war - the Hoover Dam not only produces power but also provides clean, drinkable water in nearly limitless quantities.

Appearances
Water production in its various forms appears in all Fallout games to date.