The new Environmental Data Portal (EDP) system has the latest environmental data, such as water levels, rainfall, flow, temperature, and water quality and in some cases access to up to 70 years of data, says ORC’s Environmental Monitoring Manager, Eve Bruhns.
“The Council is switching to the new Environmental Data Portal as it offers much more information to the public than the current website,” Ms Bruhns says.
The changeover will be completed by next Monday, 20 November.
“The new portal will collate data from more than 350 monitoring sites from across Otago and replace the existing flood and low flow warning sites that are currently available on the website,” Ms Bruhns says.
Taieri River in flood, at the Riverside spillway. ORC files
She says 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, she says.
“There is the safety element for communities too around monitoring, when high rainfall is threatening parts of Otago,” she says.
Installation of an ORC solar powered rain gauge on the Rock and Pillar Range, Sept 2023. Photo: ORC files
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 viewed offline, anytime, anywhere, she says.
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, Ms Bruhns says.
The following assistance is available for the EDP on www.orc.govt.nz
- A comprehensive training guide, in the form of a PDF
- A short training video
- A Data Grade and Approval Level Guide, in the form of a PDF
- Watch the webinar video introducing the EDP:
