Otago Regional Council Molyneux representatives David Shepherd (left) and Stephen Woodhead after being sworn in yesterday.
The pair represent the Taieri, Middlemarch and South Otago areas on the council.
Mr Woodhead, a sheep and beef farmer from Lovells Flat, was re-elected chairman of the council at its first meeting of the new term yesterday.
Mr Woodhead said among the challenges ahead for the Taieri was the outcome of an investigation into how an area of the Taieri River known as the ''shute''and the spillway could be more effective at directing water into the lower ponding area.
The past two or three floods had given a good understanding of how the river worked, he said.
The council would also be working with the Dunedin City Council with the hope it would put planning controls in the district plan to avoid having communities established in known hazard areas.
Cr Shepherd, a former farmer, said the council was also continuing with its planned maintenance and upgrading work on flood controls on the Taieri and would be monitoring the new Waipori pumps closely.
