The current water restrictions for Whakatane and Ohope will remain in place until Friday, at least, when we will review the situation again.

The rain over the past two days has substantially increased the river flow, but we need to monitor how quickly the flow reduces before making a final decision. If the rain predicted for the next few days does eventuate, it’s highly likely that the formal restrictions will be lifted. In any event, the need for garden watering in the meantime will be minimal and hence the restrictions will have little real effect on residents.

The approach we are taking is deliberately cautious, because we certainly don’t want to have to reintroduce restrictions if the river flow drops back to the low levels seen in recent weeks.