SH1 unlikely to be closed by flooding

Easing of rainfall in the Waikato over the past day has taken some pressure off rivers and Environment Waikato modeling now suggests floodwater is unlikely to spill onto SH1.

The Waikato River is still about 50cm below flood level at Rangiriri and, based on current weather predictions, is unlikely to rise over the highway.

The Waikato River is still rising as recent heavy rain drains through the catchment, but the rate of rise has slowed.

The Waipa River has peaked at Whatawhata, where water levels in the upper catchment have begun to slowly recede.

While floodwater has threatened some private stop banks, Environment Waikato’s flood protection schemes are performing well and the council does not expect any of its stop banks to be overtopped at this stage.

Environment Waikato emergency management officer Adam Munro said a period of drier weather forecast for the next 2-3 days would provide a chance for water to flush out of the rivers.

“However we will continue to watch them carefully over the coming week, because there is more heavy rain forecast on Thursday,” he said.

“Water levels will remain high in the Waipa and Waikato rivers this week and drainage off surrounding land will be slow.”

Environment Waikato will be flying over the Waipa and Waikato catchments today to assess the extent of flooding and check how flood control and drainage schemes have performed so far.