Hauraki Plains rivers continue to rise

Environment Waikato is offering assistance and technical advice to Hauraki District Council as HDC works to shore up a stop bank beside the lower Waitakaruru River.

About 30 homes and a school are within the vicinity of the stop bank, which is owned and managed by Hauraki District Council.

The two councils have been working together after the river started to spill over the stop bank this afternoon.
Environment Waikato staff have advised Hauraki District Council the river will get higher as the afternoon progresses, and the spillages could be made worse by an incoming tide, which is due to peak at about 5pm.

Hauraki District Council was assessing the information this afternoon.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the Hauraki Plains, the area’s three main rivers – the Waihou, Piako and Waitoa – continue to rise as heavy rainfall moves through the system.

Environment Waikato chairman Peter Buckley said surface flooding and ponding in the low lying areas around these rivers was likely for some time yet.

He is urging Hauraki Plains farmers to continue keeping a close eye on rivers and streams and keep their stock on high ground.

“We are conscious that high river levels and the strain on drainage will be causing issues, particularly for the farming community,” he said.

Environment Waikato staff are working throughout the plains area checking flood pumps are operating to full capacity and working to keep river and drainage channels open and clear from debris.

Weather situation reports are available on Environment Waikato’s website, www.ew.govt.nz.