I had one settlement asking for lots of water, so thought I'd install a large water purifier to cater to this request.

Only then did I discover it can't actually be constructed!

It says I must place it in water and it won't allow it to be built anywhere else.

I then tried to build one at Nordhaven, which is close to an oceanic bay.

But as the water was outside the construction limit, I was disappointed/frustrated another time.

I eventually found a working one in Diamond City, immersed in a lake.

If that is what is required to make one, then it serves no purpose in the game!

All the settlements I've visited have no deep water bodies in their construction zones.

Try Sanctuary Hills. I've two giant water purifiers set up down in the river nearby.

Also, the big ass puddle in the drive-in.

You can only build them if you have access to water at that settlement. So if you can't build it at a particular settlement then you can't build it there, so build smaller ones, import water or just let them get thirsty.

Nope, they are not useless. All settlements that have water under their boundaries can have them and they give much, much more water than those lousy pumps.

And I am pretty sure that you CAN build a water purifier in Nordhagen. I think I built two of them there.

Anyway, I really wish that you could build a building that imports food and water. Some places like Hangman's Alley make bad farms, but great places to put in a military outpost.

An great idea, or simply as an feature on trade routes, this will reduce the output on the other settlement but many are overflowing anyway.

yea ive got 2 industrial purifiers in there lol

If you connect two places with a caravan they share food and water.

Water purification units produce water that can be used for rad-free healing or for one of the components to create vegetable starch which breaks down to 5 adhesive so: water purifier +veggie garden= unlimited source of healing and adhesive. Summary : water purifiers are ESSENTIAL

Hangman's Alley isn't a bad farm once you expand the initial size, there's still a bit of room towards the back entrance where they have that guard tower. Just move the game to the boundary and you have more places for crops.

Sanctuary hills can turn you into the water Barron of Bostons wastes

Build one at the boat crossing

You can't build a smaller one at all!

I tried and it says the same thing, must be placed in water.

All you do is build some piffling little water pump and lots of them!

I tried again and managed to build 2 of them at Nordhaven.

But yes, importing would be nice, I don't think a few settlements should have to supply water to all the others!

I want to pave that puddle over so I can build more structures. So obviously am not going to extract water from it......

Yes, you can set one up in Nordhagen. There's a small area near the beach with just enough room for a large purifier.