Dry soils and rivers thirsty for more rain
A lack of rainfall in northern and central Southland this week means little relief to river flows and soil moisture levels, despite rain in other parts of the province, Environment Southland says.
MetService duty forecaster John Law said that between 2 millimetres and 10mm of rain fell in most parts of Southland on Easter Sunday and about 13mm fell in parts of the region on Monday.
Southland was forecast to receive scattered, isolated showers for the rest of today and during the weekend, he said.
Environment Southland environmental management director Warren Tuckey said the recent showers would not be enough to restore soil moisture levels or river flows.
The rain had little impact on soil moisture levels in northern and central Southland but levels in coastal and western areas had improved slightly, he said.
There had not been enough rain to change any of the 40 consent cut-offs, he said.
Last month’s rainfall was below average throughout the region, with eight monitored sites recording their lowest ever March rainfall, Mr Tuckey said.
Southland Rural Support Trust chairman Lindsay Wright said the group last week surveyed people in the wider agribusiness industry about the impacts of the dry period.
While it was dry, farmers were coping and the situation was not desperate, he said.
The Southern Rural Fire Authority principal rural fire officer Mike Grant said Southland still had a fire ban in place but as of yesterday morning an allowance was made for stubble burning.
The rain at the weekend and earlier this week meant a specified permit could be obtained for stubble burning but all other burning was still banned, he said.
If the wet conditions continued, the ban could be lifted in parts or all of the province, with the difference being northern and central Southland had not received as much rain as western and coastal parts, he said.