River and lake levels in the Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea catchments were on the rise following heavy rain in the past 24 hours. dsc01856.jpg The Matukituki River flowing near Lake Wanaka on Tuesday afternoon. "We're not letting our guard down while there's still the possibility of more rain, and ORC are continuing to closely monitor river and lake levels." As of 2pm on Tuesday, the Matukituki River was sweeping into Lake Wanaka with force, carrying a large amount sediment and branches from upstream. In Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu was close to 310m high, just over a metre below the flood level.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 26, 2019 02:03 UTC