Potential for forecast rain to impact north Waikato drainage schemes

Heavy rain forecast to impact the Waikato region from early Tuesday morning has the potential to result in surface water taking longer to drain in Waikato Regional Council-managed drainage schemes.

MetService has today updated its Severe Weather Alerts to include Heavy Rain Warnings and Heavy Rain Watches for the entire Waikato region, as well as Severe Wind Watches for some areas.

There is still some uncertainty with the modelled forecasts, with communities urged to keep up-to-date with the latest weather information from MetService (metservice.com) and advice from local civil defence.

Regional Flood Coordinator Rick Liefting said, “The rain forecast by MetService may reach amounts that will exceed the design of our land drainage schemes in the north Waikato.

“That means surface water may not be removed within the three-day level of service. So landowners are advised to ensure stock is moved to higher ground or away from areas which may be isolated due to floodwaters.”

Mr Liefting said the rain and wind forecast to impact the entire region over Tuesday (29 July) and into Wednesday (30 July) morning may cause significant impact for some other parts of the Waikato region too.

“The Waikato region has received its fair share of rain over recent weeks and while the sunny weather over the past week has provided a welcome reprieve, our catchments remain saturated and river levels elevated. Any further rain will flow off the catchments and result in water courses rising quickly.

“All our land drainage schemes are operating as they should, but will be working hard, with some potentially taking longer to drain water from paddocks.

"Localised heavy rain may cause landslips, surface flooding and cause water courses to rise quickly. Saturated catchments with severe winds are likely to increase susceptibility of tree fall.

“The forecast strong winds will cause coastal water levels to rise along with increased waves likely causing some minor coastal impacts along the southern Firth of Thames and eastern Coromandel Peninsula coasts.

“We are also monitoring long-range forecasts, as any further events will compound impacts of this week’s rain.

“We have been working with our partner agencies, including civil defence emergency management, to ensure they are informed of the potential impacts of this week’s forecast heavy rain,” Mr Liefting said.

Visit Waikato Regional Council’s Flood Room for further information, including links to water level and rainfall data: waikatoregion.govt.nz/flood-room

You can sign up for the council’s flood warning service by send us a message to request sign up.