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| Date/time: 23rd Nov 2009 at 10.00 am |
| Issued by: Duty Emergency Management Officer |
Rainfall warnings and observations
Severe weather outlook
No severe weather warnings or weather watches are currently in place.
For the most up to date weather information and warnings, please refer to the MetService.
Observed rainfall
The Waikato region has received minimal rainfall over the past 24 hours, and up to 48mm in the past 7 days. The highest amounts of rainfall recorded were in the Taupo and Coromandel catchments.
For the most up-to-date rainfall information around the region, please refer to our rainfall and river level webpage.
Long-term forecast
The forecast for the week ahead is a mixture of cloudy skies , drizzle and finer weather towards the end of the week with increasing southwesterlies.
For the most up-to-date weather forecast information, please refer to the MetService.
Overview of river systems in the Waikato region
Lake Taupo catchment
The water level in Lake Taupo is currently 356.813 metres above mean sea level (0.437 metres below the maximum control level of 357.25 metres). The outflow from Lake Taupo is being managed by Mighty River Power in accordance with the relevant Resource Consents and is currently running at 179 cumecs.
The wetness of the surrounding catchment has decreased gradually during the week and is currently very low at 37.
For the most up-to-date level of Lake Taupo, please refer to the Mighty River Power website.
Waipa River system
The Waipa River levels are well below early warning flood alarm levels and levels are steady.
The wetness of the surrounding catchment is steady at a value of 23 which is very low.
For the most up-to-date river level information, please refer to our rainfall and river level webpage.
Lower Waikato River system
The Lower Waikato River levels are reasonably steady and are below early warning flood alarm levels. Lake Waikare level is at 5.617mm and is below the upper operating range of 5.75m. The control gate is currently closed.
The wetness of the surrounding catchment is currently steady at a very low value of 22.
For the most up-to-date river level information, please refer to our rainfall and river level webpage.
Waihou River system
The Waihou River level is steady and well below first alarm levels.
The wetness of the surrounding catchment is currently steady at a value of 20 which is very low.
For the most up-to-date river level information, please refer to our rainfall and river level webpage.
Piako and Waitoa River system
The Piako and Waitoa River Levels are steady and remain below first flood alarm levels.
The wetness of the surrounding catchment is currently decreasing, with the API very low at 14.
For the most up-to-date river level information, please refer to our rainfall and river level webpage.
Coromandel River system
All rivers are steady and are below first flood alarm levels.
The wetness of the catchments remains within the very low range, with the API at 20.
Environment Waikato emergency management
Environment Waikato emergency management staff are on stand-by to to respond to any river flooding enquiries. If you have any flooding related enquires, please contact the duty Emergency Management Officer on (027) 499 2120 or emo@ew.govt.nz.
Waikato regional civil defence
Civil defence issues in the Waikato Region are managed by the Waikato Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Group.
All civil defence issues should be forwarded to your local Distict or City Council. Alternatively, a range of civil defence contacts are provided on the Waikato CDEM Group website.
Further information
There is a variety of information available from both Environment Waikato and other agencies to help to keep the community informed about rainfall and river conditions in the Waikato Region. Some useful links to this information are:
- Rainfall and river level information collected by Environment Waikato are published on our website and are also available through our 0832 Infolines.
- Lake level information for the Waikato River hydro-electric scheme (including Lake Taupo) is available from Mighty River Power.
- Rainfall, lake and river level information for the Tongariro Power Scheme is available from Genesis Energy.
- Current weather conditions, weather forecasts and severe weather bulletins are available from the MetService.
- Wave forecasts are available from NIWA.
- Tidal forecasts are available from NIWA.
- Civil defence information is available from the Waikato CDEM Group or the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.
- Information on other geological hazards (e.g. earthquakes, volcanos, landslides and tsunamis) is available from Geonet.
- Road conditions are available from the AA Roadwatch and Transit NZ.