Makino floodgates operated as region monitored

Horizons Regional Council emergency management staff operated the Makino floodgates upstream of Feilding this morning, to relieve pressure on the stream within the township.
 

Horizons incident controller Craig Grant says heavy rainfall in the upper Manawatū catchment in the early hours saw some key areas monitored.
 
“We closed the Makino floodgates at 8.15am and reopened them around midday when stream levels within the township dropped,” says Mr Grant.
 
“Although we didn’t experience significant rainfall today, our catchments were already saturated. Areas that we kept a particular eye on were the Mangaone Stream in Palmerston North and tributaries in the Tararua district as they were quite full.
 
“Most systems have now peaked and as water levels drop we will be assessing flood protection assets to see what maintenance or repairs are required. Due to the frequency of these small events our assets have taken regular pressure, and we are already aware of some erosion.
 
“Although most rivers have peaked, we expect to see water levels in the middle reaches of the Manawatū catchment stay high as the water makes its way down the system. This has an impact on areas such as Whiskey Creek near Gillespies Line as the water there can’t get out into the main stem of the river, seeing the drains spill into neighboring properties as they’re designed to do. 
 
Mr Grant says people can also expect to see surface water across the region for a while yet.
 
“It has been a really wet winter and we understand that people will see water sitting in paddocks, and drains that are not moving quickly, and want to find reasons to explain this,” he says.
 
“It’s important to note this is due to the combination of saturated soils and a high groundwater table meaning there is nowhere for surface water to go in a hurry.
 
“Looking ahead to the rest of the week, we may see some more rain coming so this surface water could remain for a while. Horizons will be monitoring this weather too and will provide updates as required.”
 
Up-to-date information on river heights and rainfall is available via Horizons 24-hour toll-free Waterline 0508 4 FLOOD or via our website www.horizons.govt.nz.
 
Updates will also be posted to the Manawatū-Whanganui Civil Defence page: https://www.facebook.com/civildefencemanawatuwhanganui/
 
For weather forecasting information please see www.metservice.co.nz. For road closures, delays, and warnings please see https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/manawatu-whanganui/