Otago rivers near flood levels

Several Otago rivers have pushed over or near flood warning levels by the steady rainfall experienced throughout most of the region in the past couple of days.

Otago Regional Council monitoring shows that since Tuesday 30-70mm of rain fell across the Otago region.

Manager of resource science Chris Arbuckle said that while the rain was not of a high intensity, it has been persistent over the last three days or so.

"River flows across the region were low after several months of dry conditions, but these recent rainfalls have pushed several rivers over or near flood warning levels," said Mr Arbuckle.

Despite the increased rainfall, little has fallen on the Main Divide and lake levels are still low.

River flows will continue to be closely monitored over Christmas and New Year.

- NZPA