One business chose to flood an underground car park - outside the predicted Queenstown flood zone - on Thursday night, while another decided to erect chicken wire fencing instead of sandbags.
Skyline Enterprises made the decision to flood the underground area of O'Connell's shopping centre, accessed from Cow Lane, at 5pm on Thursday to off-set pressure from water underneath the building.
O'Connell's has four commercial levels and includes a walk-way to the SkyCity Queenstown Casino and other bars and restaurants.
Skyline chief executive Jeff Staniland told the Otago Daily Times the building was "likely" to come under pressure from the rising water, but it was unlikely to "pop".
"We are just putting water in to balance the pressure from under the building - as the water table rises, it is pushing up".
Mr Staniland said the water in the 600sq m car park was about 20cm deep and would be pumped out when the danger was over.
Skyline had previously erected metre-high scaffolding to hold up a "plastic membrane" in an effort to reduce damage from waves and restrain water to 60mm around several buildings it owned on the Queenstown foreshore.
However, it was denied approval by the Queenstown Lakes District Council to join the barrier across Beach and Rees Sts.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes said those were "roads of necessity" and needed to remain open for emergency services.
Mr Staniland said the temporary wall along the lakefront from Thomas's Hotel to Eichardt's was working well so far.
"The lake hasn't flooded yet but there is some surface water and the scaffolding and plastic has kept it out.
"It will also help stop waves because the wind could be a problem," he said.
He did not yet know the cost of the mitigation measures the company had put in place.
Meanwhile, the Novotel Queenstown Lakeside Hotel chose chicken wire fencing as its defence against the flood.
On Wednesday, the hotel added an extra 50m of wire mesh, at a cost of $400, to the 50m it used during the 1999 floods.
General manager Jim Moore said the fencing was installed between the two wings nearest Marine Pde to stop driftwood damage to the building.
"The '99 flood showed us [sandbags] did not do any good.
"All that happened was the debris came down Horn Creek and the sandbags stopped all that flowing out when the water receded.
"The fence we've put up is to stop any driftwood from the lake and the water's pretty clean at this stage.
"When it does drain, we're confident it will leave the gardens in a good position."
By noon yesterday, about 6cm of water had risen past the fence and to the steps leading to the hotel's courtyard gardens.
Mr Moore estimated that it would take another 30cm of water for the rooms nearest the lake to be flooded.
"It has happened before, so we can't dismiss it."
However, as a precaution, on Thursday night, about 30 staff from several Queenstown hotels pitched in to help move furniture from 50 ground floor rooms to the Novotel Conference room and a vacant building on the corner of Earl and Camp Sts.
