Waikato region river systems starting to peak and recover

Waikato region’s catchments will have up to 10 days to recover from the deluge that has resulted in flooding across much of the rohe.

Waikato Regional Council’s monitoring shows that water levels on the Waipā, Waikato, Piako and Waihou river systems are starting to peak and recede.

The lower Waikato River downstream of Rangiriri is due to peak tomorrow.

The council’s Regional Resilience Team Leader Rick Liefting said significant rain is not expected for at least the next 7 to 10 days.

“The rain has stopped and the sun is shining across most of the Waikato region, but we still have very saturated catchments and elevated water levels.

“The good news is that we’re not expecting any significant rain for at least a week, though we are monitoring another weather system which may bring more rain to New Zealand in around 10 days.

“While the rivers and streams in our region are high, it’s important to remember these are not uncommon for our region and normally occur once or twice a year. It’s just that the past few years have been unusually dry,” Mr Liefting said.

Had the rain not stopped and another weather system come through this weekend or early next week, the situation would have changed significantly.

“With our catchments already saturated and river levels high, more rain over the next few days had the potential to result in significant flooding impacts, similar to previous events in 2017, 2008 and 1998,” he said. 

Flood Room Live – an online tool used by Waikato Regional Council to provide up-to-date information on specific weather events and analysis on their likely impacts on the region – will remain in ‘monitoring’ over the weekend.

Flood Room Live is available at waikatoregion.govt.nz/flood-room.