Rain overnight was lighter than expected and the levels of Lakes Wakatipu and Wanaka have been dropping this morning. The rain is expected to continue over the next two days but the forecast for the weekend is for mostly fine weather.

 

At 11am this morning, Lake Wakatipu was at 310.875m, above the first warning level but still below the official flood level of 311.3m (low lying pooling on foreshore reserves). Lake Wanaka, at 279.133m remains below the first warning level.

 

Otago Regional Council projections, based on Metservice forecasting, show that even a “worst case scenario” rainfall of 100mm would still only result in limited spill into the low lying reserves along the Queenstown Bay, Wanaka, Kingston and Glenorchy foreshores.

 

The Queenstown Lakes District Council will continue to monitor the situation and has been liaising with retailers in Wanaka and Queenstown although it’s unlikely that any will be affected. Otherwise it’s business as usual for both Queenstown and Wanaka.

 

More information on lake levels can be found on the Otago Regional Council website 

By: Jo Blick