Irrigation Canals

Silly question-what does it cost to build irrigation canals?

I know I have built them in the past and remember they take 12 months but can't recall the cost. Am sure it is a percentage of building canals however have looked through all the rule books, supplements, even checked the wiki but can't find them!

If memory serves. It is half the cost of your canal upgrades. So if it costs 2 million for a canal upgrade. The irrigation cost is 1 million. Yes it takes a year.

Thanks 50% does ring bells! Oddly they are something I seem to have 'forgotten' to construct in games recently

Jason wrote:Thanks  50% does ring bells! Oddly they are something I seem to have 'forgotten' to construct in games recently

At first i confirm the 50% cost for acqueduct and irrigation canals. As a building strategy how do you approach? Do you build them once when your canals reach level A or do you build them in a previous moment and then upgrade?

Thanks

I don't think you lose it with an upgrade, so it makes sense to build irrigation as soon as possible so that you can gain the benefit early.

And then invest to improve them as you improve the canals, but this way is significantly more expensive then upgrading canals at the top and then invest once to buil them. Creating canals and acqueducts cost (toghether) as much fully upgrading canals. I wonder if they impact in grain production, in this case, an higher expence would be worth.

I don't believe you need to do irrigation more than once. you get the benefit as you continue to upgrade your canals.


I can double check tomorrow, but I implemented irrigation before I'd topped out my canal upgrades.

I'm not sure if it improves grain surplus, or if it is one of the long term improvements in the EH of your country because it general improves the harvest of your farmers. Of course it may well be that it in fact has an impact on both.

I also believe you only need to do it once & it remains done regardless of canal quality level , The Canal investment is simply the bench mark you have to use to calculate the cost.

My understanding is that it increases the odds of a good harvest.

I can confirm that I implemented irrigation when my canals were about D and I didn't have to re-implement as I upgraded my canals.

In dry places if you add water wheels to irrigation canals this helps get water to your fields along the Nile, Indus etc as you try and turn an area into the bread basket of your Empire.

Think in Scotland and England etc they should be called drainage canals rather than irrigation canals rather than irrigation canals. But I assume costs and effect on crop yields is much the same.