Close eye kept on river levels

28 January 2015

Some Taranaki rivers and streams are at low levels as the year gets off to a dry start and the Taranaki Regional Council is working closely with consent holders to ensure minimum river flows are maintained.

The situation is being closely monitored and some pasture irrigators have already had their takes restricted so that their resource consent conditions are complied with.

“We have a well-established set of procedures to follow in dry conditions, and we liaise directly with individual water-take consent holders,” says the Council’s Director-Resource Management, Fred McLay.

Data from water-take consent holders is telemetered directly to the Council, in many cases, so its hydrology staff can keep a close eye on what’s happening in real time and can step in to ensure consent holders reduce water takes when the situation demands.

Hydrological data gathered during dry spells also helps the Council to refine its water allocation policies.

The Council also monitors river levels at more than 20 sites around the region as part of its state of the environment monitoring, with data published live on the Council website, www.trc.govt.nz. Rainfall, wind, temperature and soil moisture data are also available. Click on the tabs above the map on the home page.

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