Two residents of lakefront homes in Glenorchy voluntarily evacuated yesterday morning, while in Kingston a septic tank floated up from the ground as Lake Wakatipu continued to rise.
The two townships remained on alert last night, with lakefront areas flooded. However, it was business as usual in both townships, with locals who were there for the 1999 flood taking it in their stride.
Queenstown Lakes District Council infrastructure manager Denis Mander visited Kingston yesterday while council chief executive Debra Lawson and Otago Regional Council environmental engineering and natural hazards director Dr Gavin Palmer went to Glenorchy.
Mayor Clive Geddes said the owners of between six and eight houses in Cornwall St, Kingston, which runs parallel to Lake Wakatipu and is the closest residential street to the foreshore, had put up flood protection, primarily sandbags.
Kingston Community Association secretary Margaret Gibson said leaking septic tanks were one of the biggest concerns in the township, where there is no reticulated sewerage system.
ORC resource management director Dr Selva Selvarajah said septic tanks were generally well sealed but when there was severe flooding floodwater could seep into the tanks through outlet pipes or air vents.
In Glenorchy, concrete blocks were tied to the wharf on Wednesday to stop it breaking free as the lake rose.
Mr Geddes said there was a "really good level of community co-operation" in Glenorchy, where residents and Queenstown-based letting agencies had put flood protection measures in place around unoccupied homes.
• Trampers were yesterday warned not to enter Mt Aspiring National Park after a storm destroyed a 10m long bridge between the Routeburn Flats hut and the Routeburn Falls hut on the Routeburn Track and flooded the Kinloch and Lake Sylvan campsites .
There was also a large slip on the Routeburn Track between Howden hut and the Divide. Using the track is not recommended until a full damage assessment is done.
• The rising Clutha River was expected to trigger its second flood warning at Balclutha early this morning, Otago Regional Council flood manager Richard Woods said last night.
The alarm would tell farmers with low-lying land near the river to move stock.
He was expecting Balclutha to see a peak of between 1350cumecs and 1400cumecs about 3am today. In the 1999 flood, the river peaked at a huge 4500cumecs.
• By yesterday, Lake Te Anau had risen to its highest level in 22 years, and the second highest level since 1926.
The town was quiet, as rumours roads to the Southern resort were closed had a big impact on business.
By noon, the lake was 204.89m above sea level; in November 1988 it rose to 205m.
Meridian Energy external communications manager Claire Shaw said 980mm of rain had fallen at Middle Arm, Lake Te Anau in the past eight days.
"It's pretty significant. The lake is still rising but we have the control gates wide open allowing for the maximum discharge to flow through to Lake Manapouri," she said.
Destination Fiordland manager Lisa Sadler said businesses in town had been hit hard by the flooding.
"The issue for us is the perception that the road to Te Anau is closed. It has been frustrating for businesses and the impact has been huge," she said.
The collapse of Whitestone River bridge had closed State Highway 94 but the message had not filtered through to tourists that the alternative route via Tuatapere and Manapouri was still open.
State Highway 94 reopened to one lane at 3pm on Thursday, she said.
