23 November 2018

The Lower Clutha and the Taieri rivers remain high and in flood, but forecast rainfall over the weekend is not expected to cause significant issues.

River levels at Balclutha are continuing to fall slowly; Regional Council staff are still closely monitoring the condition of floodbanks. So far they are functioning well.

The lower Taieri is expected to remain high for at least the next 24 hours, partly due to snowmelt in the upper catchment. The snowmelt is expected to cause river levels to fluctuate. The East Taieri Upper Pond is still holding around 26 million cubic metres of water (this is 76% of its total capacity), but is starting to drain very slowly; if the river rises pond volume may increase again.

Flows in the Manuherikia are high and being influenced by snowmelt; this is being closely monitored by Regional Council staff.

River levels in the Silver Stream, Water of Leith and Lindsay Creek have returned to normal.

Forecast rainfall over the weekend is expected to cause rivers in North Otago and possibly the Water of Leith and Lindsay Creek to rise again – however, they are not expected to reach the levels seen earlier in the week.

Stay up-to-date:
We recommend people check out WaterInfo on our website for the most up to date information on flows www.orc.govt.nz/managing-our-environment/water/water-monitoring-and-alerts
Twitter: @ORCfloodinfo
MetService www.metservice.com
New Zealand Transport Agency https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/otago/

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