When a river or stream goes below a certain flow rate it's considered to be in low flow.
Each river or stream has different low flow levels which are applied at certain locations.
Waipaoa River
For a Waipaoa water allocation, low flow monitoring occurs from the Waipaoa River at Kanakania Bridge.
The Waipaoa River water quantity zone for the Waipaoa Catchment plan includes:
- A Block allocation cap of 2000 l/s (instantaneous take) starting at 1300 l/s.
- B Block allocation cap of 2000 l/s (instantaneous take) starting at 4000 l/s.
This means if you have a B Block Waipaoa allocation, you must stop using water when the flow at Kanakania reaches 4000 litres per second.
For an A Block Waipaoa allocation you must stop at 1300 litres per second.
Te Arai River
For a Te Arai water allocation, low flow monitoring occurs at Pykes Weir.
- A Block allocation cap of 70 l/s and a minimum flow of 60 l/s.
- B Block allocation cap of 100 l/s and a minimum flow of 220 l/s.
This means if you have a B Block allocation, you must stop using water when the river flow reaches 220 litres per second.
If you have an A Block allocation, you must stop at 60 litres per second.
If you continue to take water when under low flow restrictions, you will be in breach of your consent and action will be taken to ensure you comply.
Checking low river flows
Water consent holders can keep track of river levels and be aware if the river is on restriction.
We also email consent holders when possible, if you're a consent holder, please make sure we have your correct email.