Following four heavy rain events in the space of three weeks, early estimates put the costs of repairing about 40 rural roads at between $500,000 and $1 million, but council assets manager Neil Jorgensen said it was still too early to confirm a final figure.
"It's going to be several weeks to a month before we get that.
"There is a heap of work that needs to get sorted out before we get to that stage."
Roading manager Michael Voss said costs would be "significant," but added funding restrictions meant work had to be "carefully" scheduled to keep within the available budget.
Mr Voss said the council had also made the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) aware of the "scope and scale" of the issues at hand.
Following a request from the council, NZTA representatives had made two site visits to the district to see where they could assist with appropriate investments, he said.
"The extent of the flooding means we may not be able to repair damage to all roads as quickly as we or the people who use them would like.
"At this stage, we ask road users to continue to use these rural roads with caution and we thank people for their patience."
Nine rural roads were still closed yesterday.
He was also concerned about the theft of a number of "road closed" signs, Mr Voss said.
"This behaviour is totally unacceptable and is putting people's safety at risk."
