Queenstown flood fears ease

Full-to-the-brim Lake Wakatipu is likely to start dropping back tomorrow if no more rain falls, but high winds could still push waves of water into Queenstown streets, according to latest predictions.

"We are hoping to see the lake adopt a downward trend by tomorrow (Sunday) night but our bigger concern remains to be forecast winds," Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Clive Geddes said today.

The Otago Regional Council's prediction that the lake would rise to around the 311.5m mark remained the anticipated peak, with the lake this morning sitting at 311.48m.

Rain forecast for Monday was now likely to fall to the west of the lake's catchment and should not push water levels any higher.

However, wave action could still cause problems for Queenstown Bay, Kingston and Glenorchy, said council director environmental engineering and natural hazards, Gavin Palmer.

"We will continue to model lake levels on a daily basis at this point."

He said the lake was likely to remain high for several days but if there was no further rain, the lake could drop below the flood warning level of 310.8m in about a week's time.

In the meantime, some of the roads which were closed in central Queenstown because of the risk of flooding have today been reopened.

Lake Wanaka's rise in water levels was also slowing and it remained 200mm below the first warning level at mid-morning.

- NZPA