The Otago Regional Council is switching over the display of the data from its water, and land monitoring sites around Otago, with more than 350 sites now operational under its new Environmental Data Portal.

From today, Monday November 20, the new Environmental Data Portal (EDP) system will feature the latest environmental data, such as water levels, rainfall, flow, temperature, and water quality and, in some cases access, up to 70 years of data, environmental monitoring, manager Eve Bruhns said.

“The council is switching to the new Environmental Data Portal as it offers much more information to the public than the current website,” she said.

The new portal will replace the existing flood and low flow warning sites that are currently available on the website.

She said with more quality data, people will be able to make better decisions on their activities, be it short term recreational river use, boating, fishing, or tramping, or during low flow events, and for medium to long term planning, such as the rural sector needs for its operations.

“There is the safety element for communities too around monitoring, when high rainfall is threatening parts of Otago.”

People will now be able to explore more than 350 monitored sites, find, view and interact with a large number of maps and tables, access all available historical data and also download quality approved data, so it can be  viewed offline, anytime, anywhere.

The ability to access more comprehensive, up-to-date data, combined with an improved interface, means a much better user experience for people needing information on rainfall and river flow or levels, she said.

To learn more visit the online portal.