Horizons closely monitoring levels in the Manawatū River

Horizons incident controller Martyn Boyce says current river levels show the Manawatū River could reach operating range for the gates on Friday morning.
 
River levels have already closed SH56 at Ōpiki this afternoon due to flooding. Horizons has been calling landowners this afternoon to advise that there is potential to open the Moutoa floodgates tomorrow morning.
 
“We are hoping there won’t be a need to activate the floodgates, however the peak in the early morning will be marginal and we have mobilised on the basis that we may need to open the gates and use the Moutoa floodway.
 
“Horizons staff will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as and when necessary.
 
“We want to remind people who may be travelling over the long weekend to take care as they travel, due to the weather there may still be a chance of slips or flooding around the region.”
 
Updated information on river heights and rainfall is available via Horizons’ 24-hour toll-free Waterline 0508 4 FLOOD (0508 435 663), or online at envirodata.horizons.govt.nz.
 
Updates are posted to the Manawatū-Whanganui Civil Defence Facebook page, while weather warnings are available at www.metservice.com/warnings.
 
For any road closures check NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s journey planner.
 
An explainer video about how the Moutoa floodgates work is available here.