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How Far Does Water Flow in Minecraft Java Edition 1.15

Painting JE2 BE2.png

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Water is a natural fluid that generates abundantly in the Overworld.

Contents

  • 1 Obtaining
    • 1.1 Natural generation
  • 2 Usage
    • 2.1 Appearance
    • 2.2 Swimming
    • 2.3 Spreading
      • 2.3.1 Flow arrangement tables
    • 2.4 Source blocks
    • 2.5 Current
    • 2.6 Light
    • 2.7 Color
      • 2.7.1 Java Edition
      • 2.7.2 Bedrock Edition
    • 2.8 Water and lava
    • 2.9 Interactions with mobs
      • 2.9.1 Direct contact
      • 2.9.2 Suffocation
    • 2.10 Slower mining speed
    • 2.11 Hardening concrete powder
    • 2.12 Sponges
    • 2.13 Dripping
  • 3 Sounds
  • 4 Data values
    • 4.1 ID
    • 4.2 Metadata
    • 4.3 Block states
    • 4.4 Fluid states
  • 5 Achievements
  • 6 Advancements
  • 7 History
    • 7.1 Data history
    • 7.2 Water "items"
      • 7.2.1 Appearances
      • 7.2.2 Names
        • 7.2.2.1 Still Water
        • 7.2.2.2 Flowing Water
    • 7.3 Texture generation prior to Java Edition 13w02a and Bedrock Edition v0.14.2
      • 7.3.1 Still water
      • 7.3.2 Flowing water
  • 8 Issues
  • 9 Trivia
  • 10 Gallery
  • 11 See also
  • 12 References

Obtaining [ ]

A typical lake of water.

Water blocks do not exist as items,‌[ Java Edition only ] but water can be collected by using a bucket on a water source block or a full cauldron, creating a water bucket.

In Bedrock Edition, it may be obtained as an item via inventory editing or add-ons.

Natural generation [ ]

Water naturally generates in the Overworld to form oceans, lakes, rivers and springs. It also generates in villages, desert wells, strongholds, woodland mansions, and ocean monuments. Technically, water generates below layer 63 by replacing air blocks that are not part of a cave or other structure, although some caves and canyons in the ocean biomes are intentionally filled with water. Water also occasionally generates as small puddles on the floor next to dripstone clusters.

Water never generates in the Nether and instantly disappears or evaporates into steam if placed there with a water bucket. However, water can exist in the Nether in a cauldron. Water can also be placed in the Nether using commands such as /setblock and /fill. Although it does not naturally generate there, water can be placed and function normally in the End.

In Bedrock Edition, water also generates as part of underwater ruins with loot chests, but only two water blocks generate:

  • One water block generates inside the loot chest, making it a waterlogged loot chest.
  • The other water block generates on top of the loot chest.

It is unknown whether this is intentional.[1] This is not the case in Java Edition; if an underwater ruin generates on the surface, no water generates.[2] This also happens with shipwrecks.

Usage [ ]

Appearance [ ]

Water uses an animated texture that is tinted differently in different biomes. Colored water in cauldrons uses a slightly different texture, resembling its pre-Update Aquatic appearance.‌[ Bedrock Edition only ] [ verify ]

Unlike other translucent blocks such as ice, stained glass and tinted glass, water shows the opposite sides of its external planes when viewed from within and from outside. This inconsistency is intentional.[3] However, it only applies to the top plane and four side planes; the bottom face is always invisible from above.[4]

Swimming [ ]

The button for swimming is the same as the button for jumping; non-swimming players and mobs sink slowly in water. Holding the swim button raises the player through the water, and when the surface is reached, the player bobs up and down. The crouch button can be used to sink faster. The sprint button can be used to put the player in "swim mode" when the player is completely submerged in water. When in swim mode, the player is horizontal and one block high. The player has an arm-waving animation when viewed in third person or by other players.

Swimming in water is considerably slower against currents (see Current below), but faster when going with the current.

Most mobs that can stand can also swim any time they are in water, except for iron golems, piglins, hoglins, striders, piglin brutes and undead mobs. This can lead to drowning if the water is falling from above.

Water of any depth prevents any entity, including the player, from sustaining falling damage if they fall into it, regardless of the distance fallen.

Being inside of water also imparts a fog effect, tinted accordingly.

Spreading [ ]

An image showing water's spreading distance

Water spreads horizontally and downward into nearby air blocks. Water can spread downward infinitely until stopped by a block, and 7 blocks horizontally from a source block on a flat surface. Water spreads at a rate of 1 block every 5 game ticks, or 4 blocks per second.

When spreading horizontally, a weight is assigned to every direction water can flow. For each direction, this weight is initially set to 999[ verify ]. Then, for every adjacent block it can flow into it tries to find a way down that is reachable in four or fewer blocks from the block it wants to flow to. When found, the flow weight for that direction is set to the shortest path distance to the way down. Finally, water spreads in the directions with the lowest flow weight.

Spreading water extinguishes fire and washes away certain types of items or placed blocks, causing them to drop as items and then carrying them along in the flow until the edge of the spread. Affected items include plants (except trees), snow, torches, carpets, redstone dust and some other redstone components, cobweb, end rods, heads, and flower pots.

Flow arrangement tables [ ]

7
7 6 7
7 6 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 3 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 4 5 6 7
7 6 5 6 7
7 6 7
7
Range Height in blocks
1 block 1
2 blocks 0.75-1
3 blocks 0.625-0.75
4 blocks 0.5-0.625
5 blocks 0.375-0.5
6 blocks 0.25-0.375
7 blocks 0.125-0.25

Source blocks [ ]

This section is about the behaviour and creation of source units of water. For the removed block which created water sources, see Infinite Water Source.

A water source block is created from a flowing block that is horizontally adjacent to two or more other source blocks, and sitting on top of a solid block or another water source block. This allows infinite water sources to exist, in which a new source block immediately forms in the space left by removing a source block with a bucket. Pools of still water can be created by placing water source blocks in a confined area.

Infinite water sources can be constructed by arranging for two source blocks to flow into a third block. Each of the examples below require two source blocks on opposite ends of the hole to create a renewable water source block in between.

  • 2x2 infinite water source (every corner is renewable)

  • 3x1 infinite water source (middle water block is renewable)

  • L-shaped infinite water source (corner water block is renewable)

A dispenser loaded with a filled bucket places a water source block in an empty block in front of it when activated. A dispenser loaded with an empty bucket and a water source right in front of it sucks the source into the bucket when activated.

In snowy biomes, water source blocks have a chance to turn into ice if directly under the sky. Ice blocks under brighter light levels melt back into water source blocks (except in the Nether). Ice reverts to water when broken, but only if there is a solid block under it.

Current [ ]

The current in a water block determines both the direction it appears to flow and the direction an entity such as a player or boat is pushed from that block.

Water with a current pushes players and mobs at a speed of about 1.39 meters per second, or 25 blocks every 18 seconds. Players that are in creative flying mode don't get pushed.‌[ Java Edition only ] [5]

The horizontal current in a water block is based on a vector sum of the flows to and from that block from its four horizontal neighbors. For example, if a block receives water from the north and sends it both south and east, but borders a solid block on its west edge, then a south-southeast current exits from that block, because 2 southward flows (in and out) are combined with 1 eastward flow (out). Thus, 16 horizontal directions are possible. If a branch in a channel is 2 blocks wide at its entrance, then entities float into it rather than continuing in a straight line.

Water blocks can create a downward current. A downward current in a water block is caused by the block below it. Most blocks that do not have a solid upper face cause downward current on above water blocks. Also, ice and falling water blocks (blocks created by spreading downward) cause downward current on the water block above. Falling water blocks have a downward current by default.

Light [ ]

In Bedrock Edition, every block of water reduces light by 1 extra level (in addition to the normal fading-out of light). In Java Edition, water does not cause any additional decrease for block light, but diffuses sky light, causing the light to fade with depth. Underwater visibility changes depending on the biome the player is in. The Night Vision and Conduit Power effects increase underwater visibility.

Color [ ]

Water has several colors, depending on the biome.

Java Edition [ ]

  • Warm oceans biome have a cyan color.
  • Lukewarm oceans have an azure color.
  • Cold oceans have an ultramarine color.
  • Frozen rivers and oceans have an indigo color.
  • Swamps have a green color.
  • Other biomes not listed above have a blue color.
Biome Water surface color Water fog color Render Cauldron
All other biomes #3F76E4 #050533 Water JE16.png Water Cauldron JE7.png
Swamp #617B64 #232317 Swamp Water JE.png Swamp Water Cauldron JE2.png
Lukewarm Ocean #45ADF2 #041633 Lukewarm Ocean Water JE.png Lukewarm Ocean Water Cauldron JE2.png
Warm Ocean #43D5EE #041F33 Warm Ocean Water JE.png Warm Ocean Water Cauldron JE2.png
Cold Ocean #3D57D6 #050533 Cold Ocean Water JE.png Cold Ocean Water Cauldron JE2.png
Frozen River #3938C9 #050533 Frozen Ocean Water JE.png Frozen Ocean Water Cauldron JE2.png
Frozen Ocean #3938C9 #050533 Frozen Ocean Water JE.png Frozen Ocean Water Cauldron JE2.png

Clock JE3 BE3.gif

This section 's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.

Please update this section to reflect recent updates or newly available information.
Reason: Nether biome colors in the Nether Update, also fog color changes throughout caves and cliffs beta

Bedrock Edition [ ]

Biome Water Surface Color Water Fog Color Water Fog Distance Water Surface Transparency Render
Sunflower Plains

Plains

#44AFF5 #44AFF5 - - Plains Water.png
Desert #32A598 #32A598 - - Desert Water.png
Mountains #007BF7 #007BF7 - - Mountains Water.png
Forest #1E97F2 #1E97F2 - - Forest Water.png
Flower Forest #20A3CC #20A3CC - - Flower Forest Water.png
Taiga #1FA14A #1E97F2 - - Background (2).png
Taiga Mountains #1FA14A #1E97F2 - - Background (2).png
Swamp #4c6559 #4c6559 8 1.0 Swamp Water.png
Swamp Hills #4c6156 #4c6156 8 1.0 Swamp Hills Water.png
River #0084FF #0084FF 30 - River Water.png
Nether Wastes #905957 #905957 - - Nether Water.png
The End #62529e #62529e - - The End Water.png
Frozen River #185390 #185390 20 - Frozen River Water.png
Snowy Tundra

Ice Spikes

#14559b #14559b - - Ice Spikes Water.png
Snowy Mountains #1156a7 #1156a7 - - Snowy Mountains Water.png
Mushroom Fields #8a8997 #8a8997 - - Mushroom Fields Water.png
Mushroom Field Shore #818193 #818193 - - Mushroom Field Shore Water.png
Beach #157cab #157cab 60 - Beach Water.png
Desert Hills #1a7aa1 #1a7aa1 - - Desert Hills Water.png
Wooded Hills #056bd1 #056bd1 - - Wooded Hills Water.png
Taiga Hills #236583 #236583 - - Taiga Hills Water.png
Mountain Edge #045cd5 #045cd5 - - Mountain Edge Water.png
Jungle

Bamboo Jungle

#14A2C5 #14A2C5 - - Jungle Water.png
Jungle Hills

Modified Jungle Bamboo Jungle Hills

#1B9ED8 #1B9ED8 - - Jungle Hills Water.png
Jungle Edge

Modified Jungle Edge

#0D8AE3 #0D8AE3 - - Jungle Edge Water.png
Stone Shore #0d67bb #0d67bb - - Stone Shore Water.png
Snowy Beach #1463a5 #1463a5 50 - Snowy Beach Water.png
Birch Forest #0677ce #0677ce - - Birch Forest Water.png
Birch Forest Hills #0a74c4 #0a74c4 - - Birch Forest Hills Water.png
Dark Forest #3B6CD1 #3B6CD1 - - Dark Forest Water.png
Snowy Taiga

Snowy Taiga Mountains

#205e83 #205e83 - - Snowy Taiga Water.png
Snowy Taiga Hills #245b78 #245b78 - - Snowy Taiga Hills Water.png
Giant Tree Taiga

Giant Spruce Taiga Giant Spruce Taiga Hills

#2d6d77 #2d6d77 - - Giant Tree Taiga Water.png
Giant Tree Taiga Hills #286378 #286378 - - Giant Tree Taiga Hills Water.png
Wooded Mountains

Gravelly Mountains Gravelly Mountains+

#0E63AB #0E63AB - - Wooded Mountains Water.png
Savanna #2C8B9C #2C8B9C - - Savanna Water.png
Savanna Plateau

Shattered Savanna

#2590A8 #2590A8 - - Savanna Plateau Water.png
Badlands #4E7F81 #4E7F81 - - Badlands Water.png
Eroded Badlands

Wooded Badlands Plateau

#497F99 #497F99 - - Eroded Badlands Water.png
Badlands Plateau

Modified Badlands Plateau

#55809E #55809E - - Badlands Plateau Water.png
Ocean #1787D4 #1165b0 60 - Ocean Water.png
Deep Ocean #1787D4 #1463a5 60 - Ocean Water.png
Warm Ocean #02B0E5 #0289d5 60 0.55 Warm Ocean Water.png
Warm Deep Ocean #02B0E5 #0686ca 60 - Warm Ocean Water.png
Lukewarm Ocean #0D96DB #0a74c4 60 - Lukewarm Ocean Water.png
Lukewarm Deep Ocean #0D96DB #0e72b9 60 - Lukewarm Ocean Water.png
Cold Ocean #2080C9 #14559b 60 - Cold Ocean Water.png
Cold Deep Ocean #2080C9 #185390 60 - Cold Ocean Water.png
Frozen Ocean #2570B5 #174985 60 - Frozen Ocean Water.png
Frozen Deep Ocean #2570B5 #1a4879 60 - Frozen Ocean Water.png
Default

(Biome not listed above)

#44AFF5 #44AFF5 15 0.65 Water JE16.png

Water and lava [ ]

Water and lava can produce stone, cobblestone, or obsidian based on how they interact. If water touches a lava source, the lava turns to obsidian. If both touch each other while flowing, cobblestone is made and no sources are removed, and if lava hits a water source, the water source turns to stone.

Interactions with mobs [ ]

Direct contact [ ]

Water damages endermen, snow golems, striders and blazes, at a rate of 1 ♥ per half second. If water comes into contact with a shulker or an enderman, the mob will teleport away.

Suffocation [ ]

Players and mobs (except aquatic mobs, undead mobs and iron golems) have a breath meter that lasts 15 seconds. After they run out of breath, they take 2 ♥ suffocation damage every second until they die, surface, or enter bubble columns.

Dolphins are a special case in drowning: they take suffocation damage when underwater for about 4 minutes, but also take suffocation damage when in air for about 2 minutes.

Each level of the Respiration enchantment adds 15 seconds to the breath meter and grants an x/(x+1) chance (where x is the Respiration level) of not taking damage after that time: 30 seconds and an average 1 ♥ /second with Respiration I, 45 seconds and an average of 23 damage/second with Respiration II, and 60 seconds and an average of 12 damage/second with Respiration III.

If a husk suffocates underwater, it starts to shake and eventually becomes a zombie. If a zombie suffocates underwater, it starts to shake and eventually transforms into a drowned.

Slower mining speed [ ]

Players with their head underwater require 5 times the normal amount of time to mine blocks while standing on the ground, or 25 times while not on the ground. If a player wears a helmet with the Aqua Affinity enchantment, then underwater mining speed while standing on the ground is the same as on land, and 5 times slower if not standing on the ground.

Hardening concrete powder [ ]

When water comes into contact with concrete powder, the powder hardens into solid concrete.

Sponges [ ]

When a dry sponge comes into contact with a water source or flowing block, it becomes a wet sponge, absorbing all water within 3 to 5 blocks in all directions. Kelp and lily pads within the absorbed water blocks are destroyed and drop as items, and seagrass is destroyed without dropping anything. Mobs that take damage out of water are affected as a side-effect.

Sponges do not absorb water from waterlogged blocks, nor water that comes into contact by flowing back in from outside the area of absorption. For instance, placing a sponge 4 or more blocks from a single water source removes the flowing water in the area of effect, but as the flow from the source resumes it is not affected by the wet sponge.

A sponge instantly absorbs nearby water when it is placed next to water or when water comes into contact with it (by being placed next to the sponge, or by flowing toward it). A sponge absorbs water around itself (water source blocks or flowing water) out to a taxicab distance of 7 in all directions (including up and down), but won't absorb more than 65 blocks of water (water closest to the sponge is absorbed first). The absorption propagates only from water to water and does not "jump over" non-water blocks (including air).

Dripping [ ]

Dripping water.

Water above a non-transparent block (does not include stairs, fences, and slabs) will produce dripping particles on the underside of that block. If a block of pointed dripstone hangs under any block directly beneath a water source, the drips can slowly fill up a cauldron placed underneath. Without the dripstone, cauldrons will not fill.

Sounds [ ]

Java Edition:

Sound Subtitles Source Description Resource location Translation key Volume Pitch Attenuation
distance
None [sound 1] Ambient/Environment Player eye level goes underwater ambient.underwater.enter None [sound 1] ? 0.8 16
None [sound 1] Ambient/Environment Player eye level goes above water ambient.underwater.exit None [sound 1] ? 0.5 16
None [sound 2] Ambient/Environment Random underwater ambient.underwater.loop None [sound 2] ? ? ?
None [sound 2] Ambient/Environment Random underwater ambient.underwater.loop.additions None [sound 2] ? ? ?
None [sound 2] Ambient/Environment Random underwater ambient.underwater.loop.additions.rare None [sound 2] ? ? ?
None [sound 2] Ambient/Environment Random underwater ambient.underwater.loop.additions.ultra_rare None [sound 2] ? ? ?
Water flows Blocks Random when flowing block.water.ambient subtitles.block.water.ambient ? ? 16
Splashing Players Entity enters water entity.generic.splash subtitles.entity.generic.splash ? ? 16
Swimming Players Entity moves through water entity.generic.swim subtitles.entity.generic.swim ? ? 16
Bucket empties Blocks Placing water with a bucket item.bucket.empty subtitles.item.bucket.empty ? ? 16
Bucket empties ? Placing water with a bucket of fish item.bucket.empty_fish ? ? ? 16
Bucket fills Players Grabbing water with a bucket item.bucket.fill subtitles.item.bucket.fill ? ? 16
Fish captured ? Grabbing water with a bucket of fish item.bucket.fill_fish ? ? ? 16
None Music Random underwater music.under_water None ? ? ?
  1. a b c d MC-177092
  2. a b c d e f g h MC-196825

Data values [ ]

ID [ ]

Java Edition:

Water Resource location Form Translation key
Block water Block block.minecraft.water
Water Resource location Fluid tags (JE)
Fluid water water
Flowing Fluid flowing_water water

Bedrock Edition:

Water Resource location Numeric ID Form Translation key
Updating flowing_water 8 Block tile.flowing_water.name
Stationary water 9 Block tile.water.name

Water spends most of its time as stationary, rather than 'flowing' – regardless of its level, or whether it contains a current downward or to the side. When specifically triggered by a block update, water changes to 'flowing', updates its level, then changes back to stationary. Water springs are generated as flowing, and oceans, lakes, and rivers are generated as stationary. This happens before most types of generated structure are created, and the main cause of water "glitches" is that generated structures do not trigger a block update to let water flow into them.

Metadata [ ]

If bit 0x8 is set, this liquid is "falling" and spreads only downward. At this level, the lower bits are essentially ignored, because this block is then at its highest fluid level.

The lower three bits are the fluid block's level. 0x0 is the highest fluid level (not necessarily filling the block - this depends on the neighboring fluid blocks above each upper corner of the block). Data values increase as the fluid level of the block drops: 0x1 is next highest, 0x2 lower, on through 0x7, the lowest fluid level. Along a line on a flat plane, water drops one level per meter from the source.

Block states [ ]

Java Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description
level 0 0 Water source block.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
The distance from a water source or falling water block.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Falling water.
This level is equal to the falling water above, and if it's non-falling, equal to 8 plus the level of the non-falling water above it.

Bedrock Edition:
Water and flowing water

Name Default value Allowed values Description
liquid_depth 0 0 Water source block.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
The distance from a water source or falling water block.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Falling water.
This level is equal to the falling water above, and if it's non-falling, equal to 8 plus the level of the non-falling water above it.

Fluid states [ ]

Java Edition:
Water

Name Default value Allowed values Description
falling false true
false
Always false.

Flowing water

Name Default value Allowed values Description
falling false true
false
True for falling water, false for water with a block below.
level 1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Height of the water, 8 when the water is falling.

Achievements [ ]

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Gamerscore earned Trophy type (PS4)
PS4 Other platforms
Free Diver Stay underwater for 2 minutes Drink a potion of water breathing that can last for 2 minutes or more, then jump into the water or activate a conduit or sneak on a magma block underwater for 2 minutes. 20G Silver
Sleep with the Fishes Spend a day underwater. Spend 20 minutes underwater without any air. 30G Silver

Advancements [ ]

Icon Advancement In-game description Parent Actual requirements (if different) Resource location
Advancement-plain-raw.png Tactical Fishing
Catch a fish... without a fishing rod! Fishy Business Use a water bucket on any fish mob. husbandry/tactical_fishing
Advancement-plain-raw.png The Cutest Predator
Catch an axolotl in a bucket Tactical Fishing Use a water bucket on an axolotl. husbandry/axolotl_in_a_bucket

History [ ]

Information icon.svg

This page would benefit from the addition of isometric renders.

Please remove this notice once you've added suitable isometric renders to the article.
The specific instructions are:

    • Pocket v0.10.0 alpha build 1 - "Water now uses a dark gray coloration in swamps." and "Smoothing light for water has now been added."
    • Pocket 1.0.0 Alpha 1.0.0.0 - "When viewed through glass, water now appears as a solid blue color, as opposed to a downward flowing water texture." (and Bedrock revert).
    • Bedrock - "When viewed through glass, water now appears as its own top texture, as opposed to a downward flowing water texture."
    • Playstation 4 1.78 - "The animation of water is now less smooth."
    • JE 1.16 pre-release 5 - "Water overlay has been changed into a darker shade."
Java Edition Classic
May 17, 2009 Notch mentions developing water.
"

a very very first version of the water is somewhat working now, heh [/] the level starts out without any water and is surrounded a by a huge ocean [/] it quickly fills, leaving islands

0.0.12a May 18, 2009 Water JE0.png Showed water.
release Water JE1.png Added water.
Water flows to any available space below or beside it and creates a new source block, making it easy to flood a whole world just with one source.
May 22, 2009 Notch pointed out that when a plant or non-cube block is placed in water, it produces a box of air around it. He asked how it could be fixed, and whether he even had to.
0.0.13a Water JE2.png Changed model of water.
May 24, 2009 A new water system is mentioned.
May 24, 2009 A new water system is shown.
May 24, 2009 Another test of water is shown.
May 26, 2009 While sharing feedback on experiments with random vertex and color offsets, and deciding to scrap it, Notch said he would investigate salvaging the technique to add animation to water tiles.
0.0.19a Water JE5.png Water's texture has been changed - it now uses an animated texture generated on-the-fly by the game rather than a still texture from terrain.png. However, said old texture is still retained for use as an animation placeholder texture.
Added sponges, which remove water.
While water generated in worlds use the newer animated texture, water surrounding the world border uses the old texture.
? Water JE4.png Due to a bug, water now partially uses a block placeholder texture.
? Water JE5.png Water's texture mapping has been corrected - it no longer draws part of a placeholder texture.
Java Edition Indev
0.31 20091223-1 Water JE8.png Added the flowing water texture, which is now used on the sides of water. It differs from the current flowing water texture in that while it still appears much streakier than still water and is rotated 90 degrees from it, it does not appear to "move".
? Water outside of the world boundary now uses the animated water texture.
20100113 Finite water now exists.
Oceans now have infinite water.
Water now always drains from its highest remove location.
Water no longer moves on the surface on its own.
Water now has a 23 probability to evaporate and a 13 probability to copy.
20100122 Water now spawns in level generation as springs and lakes.
20100131 The texture of water is now seen when underwater.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1 Water no longer flows due to changes in chunk handling for infinite worlds.[ verify ]
20100607 Water JE7.png Due to another texture mapping bug, water now uses parts of the lava and fire textures.
20100608 Water JE8.png Water texture mapping has been fixed once more and as such it now fully uses the water texture.
20100615 Water JE9.png Water's model has now changed to actually be a cuboid, rather than a full cube shifted down by one and a half pixels as it was previously.
The texture of flowing water has been changed to give it a sense of movement, rather than the still appearance it had prior.
Water now flows.
This first iteration of flowing water has the flowing units as a series of cuboids.
Sources placed in isolation flow exclusively downwards, rather than spreading out one block in each direction as well.
Water and lava do not produce any solid blocks when combined.
Water does not break plants.
Water is now infinite again.
Added water buckets, which can be filled with water.
20100616-1 Flowing water no longer appears as a series of cuboids, and instead has a smoother, more polygonal appearance.
Water JE10.png This has changed the default model for water.
Downward flowing water now pushes the player out.[ more information needed ]
Water sources have been given random vertex offsets, which is easily visible in large bodies of water.
20100617-2 Water JE11.png Minor changes to the water model, likely due to the random vertex offset changes mentioned below.
The waviness/random vertex offset water had has been removed.
The flowing animation of water is now nicer.[ more information needed ]
Water sources placed in the air now flow outwards.
Water that hits lava now turns flowing lava into cobblestone, and lava that hits water or water that hits a lava source turns lava into obsidian.
Downward flowing water no longer pushes the player out.
Plants now break when hit by water. However no items are dropped.
20100618 Water can now break rails. When a rail is placed in flowing lava, the rail gets replaced with a lava source.
20100624 Plants broken by water now drop items.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.2_02 Liquids, including water, have been slightly tweaked.
v1.0.5_01 Water can now freeze into ice.
v1.2.6 Lakes, which contain water, have been added.
Java Edition Beta
1.5 Dropped items in flowing water now move faster.[ is this the correct version? ]
1.6 Test Build 3 Rain and snow no longer fall through water.
Water sources now form over glass.
1.8 Pre-release Underwater particles have been added.
Because of the change in how land is generated, if a player is in a world that was made pre-1.8 and travels into new chunks, there's a chance that a large ocean may be formed as the ocean biome. There is also a one-block-high drop in sea level along the discontinuity between the old and new chunks with the old chunks being higher.
Water can now be found in the farms and wells of villages, and the fountain rooms of strongholds.
Two biomes have been added that are almost all water: oceans and rivers.
Java Edition
1.0.0 Beta 1.9 Prerelease One-block ceilings of opaque blocks immediately below water have a "leak" particle effect (as with lava), alerting the player that water lies directly on top of that block. Glass or any other transparent block is exempt from this. However, they do not fall in this version.
32px A dedicated tint for water in the swamp biome has been added:
 #E0FF70
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4 Added Respiration and Aqua Affinity enchantments, which allow more breathing time in water and normal digging speed in water.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5 Now flowing downwards creates source blocks
1.1 12w01a Swamp Water JE2.png The swamp water tint is now less intense:
 #E0FFAE
1.2.1 12w04a Added desert wells, which contain water.
1.3.1 12w15a Dispensers have been given the ability to shoot out liquids, including water, inside water buckets. They can also collect the liquids if activated again.
12w17a The ability to bring water using ice into the Nether has been removed.
1.4.2 12w38a The sound when jumping and swimming in water has been changed.
The sound of flowing water is now continuous.
The water overlay is a more saturated blue.
1.4.4 1.4.3 Water of any depth now negates all fall damage. Players and mobs no longer die from great heights in shallow water.[6]
1.5 13w02a Water JE14.png The texture of water has been changed to use an animated texture file. Prior to this version, the texture was procedurally generated by the game (see dedicated section below).
13w03a A water source block now forms if there is another water source block below it.
13w04a Flowing water in creative mode no longer slows the player down when flying.
1.6.1 13w17a Water lakes no longer generate in deserts.
1.7.2 13w36a Water pools now generate in the new desert M biome.
Oceans are much smaller.
13w41a Water JE13.png Water's six internal faces are now visible from the outside.
Water, ice and portals are now visible through each other. This also now allows water's inside faces to be visible from outside.
13w42a Water JE14.png Water's internal faces have been removed. This visually reverts water to its pre-13w41a appearance when seen from the outside.
1.7.4 13w47a Water's internal top face has now been readded.[7]
13w48a Water JE15.png Water's internal side faces have been readded.[8]
Its bottom face has not.[9]
1.9 15w43b When viewed through glass, water now appears as a solid blue color, as opposed to a downward flowing water texture.[10]
1.11 16w39a Water now generates in woodland mansions.
1.12 17w06a Water now hardens concrete powder into concrete, on contact.
1.13 18w07a Items now float in water.
The player's underwater visibility has been changed - the longer a player stays underwater, the better they can see.
18w10a Underwater visibility now depends on the biome the player is in.
18w10c Water can now be placed in the same block as chests, trapped chests, stairs, slabs, fences, walls, iron bars and glass panes.
18w10d Water can now be placed in ender chests, trapdoors, ladders, and signs.
18w15a Players no longer receive the Night Vision effect while underwater.[ verify ]
Water JE16.png Swamp Water JE.png The textures of water have been changed.
Water now blocks 1 light level per block instead of 3.
Water's animation is now less smooth.[11]
Warm Ocean Water JE.png Lukewarm Ocean Water JE.png Frozen Ocean Water JE.png Cold Ocean Water JE.png Added warm ocean, lukewarm ocean, frozen ocean and cold ocean texture colors for water in those biomes.
Swamp Hills Water 18w15a.png Swampland M water now has a yellowish color.[12] This was actually the color swamp water was tinted with prior to this version, with this color mixing with the blue water texture to create the darker tint.
18w16a When water spreads and would later turn into a source block, it now immediately places a source block.
pre3 Swamp Water JE.png Swampland M water now has the same water color as regular swamps.
pre7 Pressing the jump button in flowing water at level=1, level=2 and level=3 now do normal jumps instead of swimming up.
? Experience orbs now float in water.
1.15 19w34a Added bees, which get damaged while in water.
19w35a Bees now try to avoid water.
1.17 20w45a Flowing water no longer breaks rails.
21w06a Aquifers, large bodies of water in caves, have been added.
21w07a Aquifers generate less often.
21w08a Water springs are now able to generate below Y=0.
21w15a All changes to water generation from 21w06a to 21w08a have been reverted.
Pre-release 2 Smooth lighting now works properly underwater.[13]
Upcoming Java Edition
1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1 All changes to water generation in the 1.17 snapshots have been reintroduced.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0 Water JE11.png [ verify ] Added water.
Water JE2.png On older or much newer devices, the old Java water texture is used, whereas the newer animated texture is used on intermediately modern devices.
v0.7.0 Water JE11.png [ verify ] The texture of water has been changed to the new texture for all devices.
v0.9.0 build 1 Water dripping particles have been changed.
Lakes, which contain water, have been added.
Water can now be found in the farms and wells of villages.
Two biomes have been added that are almost all water: oceans and rivers.
Oasis now generate in the new desert M biome.
v0.10.0 build 1 Smooth lighting for water has been added.
Water now uses a dark gray coloration in swamps.
Flowing water can now push entities.
build 7 Running water now has sounds.
? Water now destroys blocks.
? Old bedrock water.png Old bedrock swamp water.png A gradient effect has been added to water that increases its opacity with distance.
v0.14.0 build 1 Dispensers can now shoot out water from water buckets. They can also suck up liquids, including water, directly adjacent to the side they are facing.
v0.14.2 Water JE15.png [ verify ] Water now uses animated texture files.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0 alpha 1.0.0.0 When viewed through glass, water now appears as a solid blue color, as opposed to a downward flowing water texture.[14]
1.1.0 alpha 1.1.0.0 Water now generates in woodland mansions.
Water now hardens concrete powder into concrete, on contact.
Bedrock Edition
? The rendering change for water in 1.0.0 has been reverted for an unknown reason.
1.2.13 beta 1.2.13.5 Water can now be placed in the same blocks as slabs and stairs.
1.4.0 beta 1.2.14.2 Water can now be placed in the same block as most transparent blocks, instead of slabs and stairs only.
beta 1.2.20.1 Plains Water.png Desert Water.png Mountains Water.png Forest Water.png Flower Forest Water.png Taiga Water.png Taiga Mountains Water.png Swamp Water.png Swamp Hills Water.png River Water.png Nether Water.png The End Water.png Frozen River Water.png Ice Spikes Water.png Snowy Mountains Water.png Mushroom Fields Water.png Mushroom Field Shore Water.png Beach Water.png Desert Hills Water.png Wooded Hills Water.png Taiga Hills Water.png Mountain Edge Water.png Jungle Water.png Jungle Hills Water.png Jungle Edge Water.png Stone Shore Water.png Snowy Beach Water.png Birch Forest Water.png Birch Forest Hills Water.png Dark Forest Water.png Snowy Taiga Water.png Snowy Taiga Hills Water.png Giant Tree Taiga Water.png Giant Tree Taiga Hills Water.png Wooded Mountains Water.png Savanna Water.png Savanna Plateau Water.png Badlands Water.png Eroded Badlands Water.png Badlands Plateau Water.png Ocean Water.png Warm Ocean Water.png Lukewarm Ocean Water.png Cold Ocean Water.png Frozen Ocean Water.png Water now has a completely new look for every biome and it is now much easier to see above and underwater.
Items now float to the top of water.
Underwater visibility now depends on the biome the player is in.
Respiration enchantment and Water Breathing effect no longer grants enhanced underwater visibility.
? When viewed through glass, water now appears as its own top texture, as opposed to a downward flowing water texture.[14]
1.14.0 beta 1.14.0.1 Added bees, which get damaged when touching water and try to avoid it.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1 CU1 1.0 Patch 1 1.0.1 Water JE11.png [ verify ] Swamp Water JE2.png Added water.
TU9 Dispensers have been given the ability to shoot out liquids, including water, inside water buckets. They can also suck up the liquids if activated again, but a bug prevents the empty bucket from being filled.
TU12 Water JE15.png [ verify ] Water now uses animated texture files.[ is this the correct version? ]
TU31 CU19 1.22 Patch 3 Water splash sounds have been updated.
Most mobs can now swim in water.
TU69 1.76 Patch 38 Warm Ocean Water.png Lukewarm Ocean Water.png Frozen Ocean Water.png Cold Ocean Water.png Added warm ocean, lukewarm ocean, frozen ocean and cold ocean texture colors for water in those biomes.
1.78 The animation of water is now less smooth.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0 Water JE15.png [ verify ] Old bedrock swamp water.png Added water.
  • The old style flowing water from Infdev.

Data history [ ]

This section is missing information about Dinnerbone posted on Twitter about removing flowing_water once.

Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

Java Edition
1.13 17w47a Prior to The Flattening, these blocks' numeral IDs were 8 and 9, and the "water item"'s 326.[ verify ] Both blocks have been merged into a single one.

Water "items" [ ]

The following content is transcluded from Technical blocks/Water.
Java Edition Classic
? Water has an extra, unobtainable item form corresponding to its block ID, which uses the "texture" rendered as a cube.
? Flowing water can be obtained via inventory editors with numeric item ID 8.
Still water can be obtained via inventory editors with numeric item ID 9.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST Water can be obtained as an item by having a creeper explode near it.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST_03 Explosions no longer drop water as an item.
Java Edition Infdev
20100615 When placed, still water items always remain still until receiving a block update. Flowing water items spread immediately.
Java Edition Beta
1.6 Test Build 3 Water items can be obtained from the newly added debug chests, mainly from the 8th slot of the 1st chest from the left, and the 19th slot of the 4th chest from the left.
Flowing water items can be obtained from the newly added debug chests, mainly from the 9th slot of the 1st chest from the left, and the 20th slot of the 4th chest from the left.
release Debug chests no longer spawn, preventing water and flowing water items from being obtained this way.
Java Edition
1.3.1 12w16a Water items can now be obtained in singleplayer worlds via the /give command using the respective numeric IDs.
1.8 14w25a The direct item forms of water and flowing water have been removed from the game. They can no longer exist as items in any way, only as placed blocks.
Pocket Edition Alpha
? Water exists as an item.
Bedrock Edition
? Water can now be obtained as an item through breaking surrounding blocks in a certain way,[15] notably underwater plants.[16]
Legacy Console Edition
? Water exists as an item.
? Water can be obtained in the Creative inventory by using pick block on seagrass at the same time as breaking it.[17] [18]

Appearances [ ]

Unknown
? Water (inventory) JE1.png Water (inventory) JE1.png Water appears like this in the inventory. It appears about two pixels offset downwards compared to other cube items.
?

In awe at the size of these fluids.png

Water items, when dropped on the ground, appear much larger than other blocks.
Java Edition Infdev
20100607 Water (inventory) JE2.png Water (inventory) JE2.png A texture bug in this version results in water items containing some parts of the lava texture.
20100608 Water (inventory) JE1.png Water (inventory) JE1.png Water items are now fully water again.
20100611 Water (inventory) JE4.png Water (inventory) JE4.png All 3D rendered items, which currently includes water, now appear shaded slightly darker in the inventory.
20100615 Water (inventory) JE5.png Water (inventory) JE5.png Water items are now completely flat.
Java Edition
1.5 13w02a Water (texture) JE3-a1.gif Water (texture) JE3-a1.gif Water items now use the still water texture likely due to texture storage reforms.
1.7.2 13w42a Water (texture) JE3-a1.png Water (texture) JE3-a1.png Water items now appear translucent in the inventory. As a dropped item, in a player's hand, or in an item frame, they still appear opaque.
1.8 14w02a Water items now appear translucent when held, in both first person and third person.
14w05a Water items now appear translucent when dropped or in an item frame.
Bedrock Edition
? Water (inventory) BEblue.png Water appears like this in the inventory.
? The item only appears animated when in the inventory or hotbar. When dropped, held or in an item frame, it appears completely stationary.
? When held, the item uses the whole 32x32 flowing texture rather than the usual 16x16 section of it.
1.4.0 ? Water (inventory) BEgray.png Due to water now receiving extensive biome tints, it appears gray in the inventory.
? Water (inventory) BE.gif Water now appears tinted as an item. When held or dropped, it still appears gray.
? Water no longer appears at twice the usual resolution in the player's hand.
Legacy Console Edition
? Water exists as an item, using the old generated texture, however it appears as though it may be translucent in the inventory (but not when held).[19]
? Water (inventory) LCE.png It appears 3D in the inventory, and is now translucent when held.

Names [ ]

Still Water [ ]
Java Edition

Item names did not exist prior to Beta 1.0.

  • Beta 1.0 - 14w21b: Water
Bedrock Edition
  •  ? - ?: Water [20]
Flowing Water [ ]
Java Edition

Item names did not exist prior to Beta 1.0.

  • Beta 1.0 - 14w21b: Water
Bedrock Edition
  •  ? - ?: Water [21]

Texture generation prior to Java Edition 13w02a and Bedrock Edition v0.14.2 [ ]

Still water [ ]

Adapted from https://github.com/UnknownShadow200/ClassiCube/wiki/MInecraft-Classic-lava-animation-algorithm#water

Every frame, for each position in the still water texture array, the respective values for soup_heat, pot_heat and flame_heat are calculated as detailed below:

  • Calculates a local_soup_heat equal to the sum of the 3x1 soup_heat neighborhood around the current element.
  • Calculates the new soup_heat as the sum of the local_soup_heat divided by 3.3F plus the pot_heat times 0.8F
  • Calculates the new pot_heat as the current pot_heat plus the flame_heat times 0.05. pot_heat is clamped to a minimum of 0.
  • Calculates the new flame_heat as the current flame_heat minus 0.1F.
    • However, there is a 0.05 in 1 random chance that flame_heat is set to 0.5.

Once the above arrays have been updated, for each pixel in the water texture, the color and alpha values are calculated based on soup_heat:

  • Calculates a color_heat as the soup_heat clamped between 0 and 1 inclusive.
  • Then it calculates the color components of the pixel as follows:
    • float red = 32 + color_heat^2 * 32
    • float green = 50 + color_heat^2 * 64
    • float blue = 255
    • float alpha = 146 + color_heat^2 * 50

The red, green and blue values are then converted to bytes and assigned to the texture accordingly.

Flowing water [ ]

This section is missing information about how the flowing texture was generated - presumably similarly to still water.

Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

In addition, the flowing water texture also uses a spatial translation to give the appearence of movement. This transformation moves the flowing water texture downwards by one pixel after a fixed amount of time,[ more information needed ] wrapping the bottom layer of the texture back to the top.

Issues [ ]

Issues relating to "Water" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia [ ]

  • While underwater, the player's FOV (field of vision) is lowered by 10 to simulate light refraction. This can be disabled via FOV Effects.
  • The texture overlaid on the screen when underwater is that of the original water texture from 0.0.12a. It is one of the oldest textures still currently in the game, arguably tied with the bedrock texture on end crystals.
    • The outdated ness of this texture is not considered a bug or oversight, unlike many other outdated textures.[22]
  • Water does not prevent explosions from activating. This effect is due to water's high blast resistance, causing it to absorb any normal blasts, with the exception of explosions from underwater TNT.
  • If a player with the levitation effect touches water, the levitation effect is completely negated.
  • In Bedrock Edition, due to water having collision detection even if the coordinates exceed 8,388,608 blocks, it can be used to travel to the Far Lands without falling through the world.[23]
  • Bubble columns are created by placing magma blocks or soul sand under water. These can be used to transport mobs or items quickly vertically.

Gallery [ ]

  • Underwater particles, or "bubbles".

  • Water that is underground, but is still part of 2 different biomes. The color is split.

  • A glitch where water is invisible below its surface level.

  • Water flowing into a cave.

  • A view underwater.

  • Animated view of the Java edition water texture.

  • These bubbles appear above the hunger bar when the player's head is in water, and when all the bubbles pop, a heart of damage is dealt every second until the player is no longer entirely under water.

  • A naturally occurring waterfall.

  • This texture is subtly overlaid on the screen when underwater.

  • An underwater ruin in Bedrock Edition that generated on land with a water block on top of it.

  • An underwater ruin in Java Edition that generated on land with a visible loot chest that is not waterlogged and doesn't have water on top of it.

  • A bug that causes the water to not flow into the pit.

  • A water flowing on lava lake, creating obsidian. The water was placed by a player.

  • Waterfalls mady by a player.

  • Water flowing into the cave from nearby lake.

  • Ravine with multiple ores, water and lava falls, and stronghold bridge over it.

  • Different water colors in swamp biome.

See also [ ]

  • Waterlogging

References [ ]

  1. MCPE-36793
  2. MC-136156
  3. MC-202578
  4. MC-190053
  5. MCPE-84592
  6. MC-1644 resolved as Works As Intended
  7. MC-35658
  8. MC-40621
  9. MC-190053
  10. MC-35790
  11. MC-200838
  12. MC-128558
  13. MC-68129 resolved as "Fixed"
  14. a b MCPE-11140
  15. https://youtu.be/GVxF-ZbPsCI
  16. https://youtu.be/frrvDHD2qJA?t=2m16s
  17. https://youtu.be/hHrFEJ6fGhk
  18. https://youtu.be/yxiKwynwE9U
  19. https://youtu.be/pLfrGEp2vLs
  20. https://youtu.be/GVxF-ZbPsCI?t=3m43s
  21. https://youtu.be/GVxF-ZbPsCI?t=3m32s
  22. MC-241000
  23. https://youtube.com/watch?v=r44aGxNFnEg

How Far Does Water Flow in Minecraft Java Edition 1.15

Source: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Water#:~:text=Water%20can%20spread%20downward%20infinitely,or%204%20blocks%20per%20second.