ORC Heavy Rainfall Update #7
ORC Heavy Rainfall Update #7
Attributable to Pete
Stevenson, ORC Duty Flood Officer:
Rain as forecast
by Metservice in the Otago headwaters overnight has been as
expected, and rivers feeding Lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu are
still rising slowly.
However, the weather outlook for the coming days is clear, and lake levels are expected to stabilise and begin falling during that time.
Lake Wanaka
At 9.05am, Lake Wanaka
was at 280.3m and slowly rising.
The lake is expected to
reach around 280.4 by late this evening. This prediction
does not consider the impact of wave levels due to
wind.
This level is above the January 2013 peak (279.4m),
but well short of the November 1999 peak (281.3m).
Lake Wakatipu
At 9.05am, Lake
Wakatipu was at 311.3 and slowly rising.
The lake is
expected to reach 311.4m by Monday morning, not accounting
for wind. This lake level for Wakatipu is still well short
of historic flood levels such as the November 1999 event
(312.8m) and May 2010 event (311.48m).
Downstream river flows
The Clutha /
Mata-Au River flow at Balclutha is currently at 1780cumecs
and rising slowly. While the weather is expected to be clear
throughout the lower catchment, the river will continue to
rise as water comes from upstream. Flows are expected to
reach about 2000cumecs later
The ORC Alexandra and Lower
Clutha Flood Protection Scheme infrastructure is performing
as expected, and the river is expected to remain contained
within floodbanks.
ORC has set up
a dedicated webpage for this event (www.orc.govt.nz/cluthaflowsdec19) with
links to up-to-date lake levels and flows, elevation maps
for affected areas, and further
resources.
Local authorities and other
agencies will be sharing information on their social media
and website pages:
QLDC: https://www.facebook.com/QLDCinfo/
CODC:
https://www.facebook.com/centralotagodistrictcouncil
CDC:
https://www.facebook.com/CluthaDistrictCouncil/
MetService:
www.metservice.com
Otago
Civil Defence and Emergency Management: https://www.otagocdem.govt.nz/
Ignite
Wanaka Business Chamber: https://www.facebook.com/IgniteWanakaChamber/
Queenstown
Chamber of Commerce: https://www.facebook.com/QueenstownChamberOfCommerce/
ENDS