Mother Nature comes to the rescue

The Awanui River, immediately downstream from where the Far North District Council draws water for Kaitaia, was flowing strongly after Sunday night's rain. Photo / Peter Jackson.

A request for specific figures from the Far North District Council had not been answered at edition time, but Kaitaia's water crisis at least seemed to be well and truly over after two and a half days of rain.

The Northland Age recorded 78mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday, the heaviest 24-hour fall since December 14, 2011, and not far short of the 91-year February average of 91.7mm.

That was followed by 10mm in the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday, making this month the wettest in Kaitaia since August last year.

Heavier falls in the Awanui River catchment south of Kaitaia boosted the river's flow quickly and significantly, to the point where the Whangatane spillway was flowing strongly by Monday afternoon.

The heaviest 24-hour fall in Kaitaia in February, according to Northland Age records, was 105.5mm in 2007, while the wettest February (since 1930) was that of 1958, with 358mm.

Some parts of Northland got more than Kaitaia though. The heaviest fall reported was 139mm in the hills that feed into the Kaeo River in the 24 hours to 6am on Monday, enough to raise concerns about the possibility of flooding over State Highway 10 at Kaeo. Northland Regional Council hydrology field operations manager Stephen Kitto said high tide at around 11.30am gave the river time to fall a little, however, and there was no flooding.

Rain had fallen across the region in low or moderate intensities that had been worthwhile, he added. The Wiroa Rd area, west of Kerikeri, had received 122.5mm in the 24 hours until 6am on Monday.

Federated Farmers Northland president, John Blackwell, said the rain was a morale booster, particularly for dairy farmers.

Northland dairy production had been good until about Christmas, he said, but had fallen in some places since then, and banks were now telling some farmers that they had reached their overdraft limits as a result of the last year or so of challenging and dry weather.