Moutoa floodgates to be opened at 6pm

Moutoa floodgates on the Manawatū River on September 14 at around 5pm.

The Moutoa floodgates are about to be opened after heavy rainfall yesterday.

Horizons acting river management group manager Craig Grant said the Manawatū River system is full.

"The river peaked at Horizons Teachers' College monitoring site at 2pm at 5.19 metres. The flow has since made its way down towards the Moutoa floodway between Foxton and Opiki," said Grant.

"There we expect to see the level reach the gate operational range at about 6pm this evening. This is slightly higher than what we saw in the June event and is line with our modelling.

"We have stood up our gate operators and contacted affected landowners to ensure they have stock cleared.

"We anticipate the gates will open at approximately 6pm this evening and remain operational overnight."

Horizons environmental data manager Brent Watson said forecasts later in the week show another active system is likely to cross our region.

"Current predictions are for more heavy rainfall for both the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges. This will likely add more water to saturated catchments in the upper Manawatū and Horowhenua," said Watson.

For anyone wanting to keep an eye on river levels we encourage them to view our Environmental Data available on Horizons' website.