1.00pm
Waikato and King Country are at risk from flooding as rain continues to fall in the already sodden catchments.
Lake Taupo's floodgates have been wide open for weeks as Mighty River Power struggles to keep water levels below the danger zone.
The lake has risen to 356.92m above sea level, only centimetres
below environmentally acceptable limits.
According to Mighty River Power generation manager Don Scarlett, the floodgates have been letting out about 300cu m of water a second for about six consecutive weeks.
The biggest floodgate flow, about 320cu m a second, came in July 1998 when the lake reached its highest level in 30 years. In that year, lake wave action, caused by wind, ate away metres of foreshore. Nearby roads were in danger of collapse and sewer lines were threatened.
Now many areas along the Waikato and Waipa rivers are at risk from erosion as they near or top their early warning flood levels.
This morning, footpaths along Hamilton's riverbanks were again flooded, with water nearly 1m above the warning level.
Regional council response officers were on alert.
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research climatologist Stuart Burgess said soil moisture in the Waikato was nearing "field capacity," meaning the water table was at saturation point.
Environment Waikato asset manager Scott Fowlds said big flows had caused quite dramatic problems around the banks of the Waipa and Tongariro rivers all winter, although the banks of the Waikato were quite stable.
Land owners along the Waipa were asking the regional council for help in clearing trees and other debris from the banks of the river, and replanting.
In Turangi, a clean-up would begin on the Tongariro River when weather allowed.
Major sediment and debris works were needed to protect the town from flooding again.
- NZPA
