Farmers affected by ponding on the Taieri, under which grass is ''rotting away'', have discussed the issue with Otago Regional Council chief executive Peter Bodeker.
Mr Bodeker met farmers on Thursday, saying his objective was to have a clear understanding of how the council's system was performing, following last month's heavy deluge.
Farmers were ''rightly'' providing some advice on how the system could be improved and the council had a lot of reviewing to do. There were some significant areas under water.
It was about how the systems could be improved and enhanced to ''get water off as quick as we can. Obviously the farmers are keen for us to get rid of the water,'' he said.
With his background in farm management and the dairy industry, Mr Bodeker said he could ''understand where they were coming from''.
Taieri dairy farmer Ad Bekkers was pleased Mr Bodeker was willing to listen and that he understood what the farmers were saying.
''I think he got what we were after ... it was a very good talk,'' he said.
Mr Bekkers believed improvements needed to be made to the system which was ''far too slow'' in getting rid of the water. For the high rates that he was paying, he wanted better drainage, he said.
There was still ''too much'' water on his property and the grass was ''rotting away'' underneath it. It was not the flood that caused the problem but ''local water'' from North Taieri, he said.