Underwater Population is different from the normal Citizen Population found in the Home World. It can only be increased by building Underwater residences. To allow more Underwater population in the city, players need to build Underwater Community buildings.
Currently, when expanding in the Underwater, only the Underwater Population will be used and will not be combined with the normal population. Likewise, expanding in any other Worlds will combine both population numbers.
In the Underwater, the citizens will appear as Mermaids.