The Otago Regional Council was now running monthly river channel inspections and removing obstructions and sediment to ensure waterways stayed clear and flowed freely, engineering manager Michelle Mifflin said.
Cross-section surveys of March Creek and Dead Bullock Creek were completed at the end of last year and data would help shape channel maintenance, she said.
There were no plans or funding in the council’s long-term plan to investigate engineered solutions for that part of Otago, she said.
More than 100mm of rain fell on Middlemarch at the start of January last year and buildings were flooded.
There was also flooding in the town in November 2018
The regional council has said the Middlemarch landscape is susceptible to flash flooding after heavy rain.
Last year’s flooding was due to heavy rain falling on short, steep tributaries of the Taieri River that flowed from the Rock and Pillar Range, the council said.
Strath Taieri Community Board chairman Barry Williams said he had expected more from the council.
"I would still like to know what the overall plan is."
A public meeting was held at Middlemarch a month after last year’s flood and residents expressed frustration about what they saw as lack of interest in outlying areas from both the regional council and the Dunedin City Council.
City council infrastructure and development general manager Simon Drew said at that meeting improvements made to the city council’s wastewater management network following the 2018 flood — which involved sealing manholes where water had surged — had made a difference to the amount of sewage leaking into floodwaters in the 2021 flood.
It had been suggested some years ago, flood prevention could be assisted by farmers in the area being able to club together to get a collective consent for clearing sediment, but the regional council did not favour that approach.
"The avenue for landowners to undertake river maintenance work on their properties is by applying for individual consents, which ensures compliance and sensitivity to environmental effects," Ms Mifflin said.
The regional council was looking at more efficient ways of managing the effects of gravel across Otago, she said.
Data collected from the creek surveys would support assessment of localised water flow constrictions from infrastructure such as culverts and the railway bridge.
