West Taieri residents can "breathe a little easier", after a new $320,000 submersible pump was commissioned at the Waipori pumping station last week.
The pump has been installed as part of a programme by the Otago Regional Council to replace flood control assets and land drainage equipment.
The pump isthe second to be replaced as part of the programme.
The first was replaced in 2008, after one failed in the April 2006 flood.
West Taieri Drainage Liaison Group chairman Neil Gamble welcomed the installation, saying residents could "breathe a little easier".
The pumps, known as "D pumps", offered better reliability and service and would ease concerns for farmers in the area of more than 8000ha serviced by the scheme, he said.
