In response to heavy rain the Bay of Plenty Regional Council has issued a first warning for the Kaituna River; with the Okere Gates being opened fully to manage the level of Lake Rotoiti.
The gates are likely to remain open all weekend, closing down all commercial rafting on the Kaituna River.
This first warning level for the Kaituna River is a low level warning with the river contained in the main channel with no risk of stopbank overtopping or breaches, the regional council said in a statement.
The forecast rainfall overnight was concentrated west of Whakatane and through into the Rotorua catchments. Rainfall totals have exceeded 100mm in the last 24 hours at a number of monitoring sites in these areas.
Roger Waugh, duty flood manager for the regional council said they will continue to monitor pump stations and waterways throughout the weekend, providing updates through to Civil Defence Emergency Management and local councils as required.