Bay of Plenty Regional Council says most of the rivers and lakes' flows in the region have returned to normal after heavy rain.

They Council who continue to monitor the lakes and rivers in the region says this morning most flows have returned to normal as rain eases.

Aerial view of the Rangitaiki River. File.

Earlier yesterday, warnings were issued for the Kaituna, Whakatane, Waimana and Waioeka/Otara Rivers asking residents of rural communities to move stock to higher ground. Council has also been working closely with TrustPower to manage rising lake levels behind the Matahina Dam.

Principal Engineering Hydrologist and duty flood manager, Mark James, says the Council is continuing to monitor the situation but it looked like most of the activity has now passed.

'The heavy rain warning has been lifted and the rivers and lakes are coming down. We would still advise care, particularly if the rain defies forecasts and starts again. But it certainly looks like the worst has passed,” Mark says.

Matahina Dam levels rose overnight and peak flows are reaching the Dam early this evening. While the lake was not full during the summer season, additional flow needed to be released into the River yesterday to provide capacity within the dam to adsorb peak flood flows. There is a warning system in place so when the spillway needs to be opened, email and text notifications are sent to residents and users of the river.

'We started pre-emptive releases at 11am (yesterday) to manage the large flow into the dam. The Council works very closely with TrustPower during these events and we have policies and procedures in place to keep residents and users informed and manage environmental impacts.

'Peak flows are now reaching the dam from the upper catchment so TrustPower will manage outflows from the Dam to balance these and gradually fill the lake. This will be monitored overnight and we expect that outflows will be steadily reduced during the next few days as flood flow and volume is buffered in the lake,” Mark says.

The water level in Waimana Gorge over-topped the road and the gorge road is now closed. The NZTA crew are on site and while the water level is still above road level, it is slowly receding.

The Okere Gates were also opened to maintain Lake Rotoiti levels but flows in the Kaituna River remained sustainable for rafting.

Meanwhile, State Highway 2 in the Waimana Gorge is now open to traffic after it was closed yesterday due to flooding.

The Traffic Road Event Information System reported they road was reopen last night at 7.30pm in both directions with 30kmph restrictions in place and is advising motorist to take extra care in the area.