Makino flood gates operation probable this afternoon

The Makino flood gates upstream of Feilding may be operated this afternoon following a reasonable amount of rainfall across the Horizons Region.

Horizons Regional Council acting group manager river management Craig Grant says with the current Metservice forecast the Makino Stream is expected to peak at 2.2m at Reid’s Line around 4pm.

“At this stage it is looking probable that we will close the Makino floodgates to divert water away from Feilding township this afternoon,” he says.

“We have notified spillway landowners of this and have staff on the ground ready to respond as required.”

Mr Grant says while the rain is welcome after weeks of hot, dry weather, Horizons has activated its emergency coordination centre to actively monitor the situation across the region.

“The other river system we’re focusing on is the Manawatū as there is still rain forecast for the next 3-4 hours. We will be having another briefing later today to consider if this will result in a Moutoa floodgate operation or not.”

Up-to-date information on river heights and rainfall is available via Horizons 24 hour toll-free Waterline 0508 4 FLOOD.

Updates will also be posted to the Manawatū-Whanganui Civil Defence page. 

For weather forecasting information please see Metservice.