In March, just weeks before work was scheduled to start on the park next to the Camp Hill bridge at Hawea Flat, Contact Energy announced the project had been put on hold.
Water levels and electricity demand in the region meant the Hawea River flows could not be reduced for the time required to build the course this year, generation company Contact said at the time.
The river flow has to be reduced to about three cumecs to allow construction of the park, which Contact only has consent to do during autumn.
Otherwise, the river's normal operational range must be between 10 and 200 cumecs.
However, a consent variation is now being sought from the Otago Regional Council to extend the construction "window" to spring, Contact generation manager Graham Quinn said.
"The kayaking fraternity were keen for us to build it sooner rather than later so we've been looking at ways of doing that and the easiest way was ... a resource consent variation.
"[Spring construction] would be much easier for us to manage because typically at that time of the year we are holding water back and storing it in Lake Hawea."
Contact already has agreement from other affected parties, including Fish and Game and Ngai Tahu.
"At this stage, we're quietly optimistic we can get something under way," Mr Quinn said.
Central Otago Whitewater Club members Roy Bailey, of Wanaka, and Gordon Rayner, of Alexandra, have spent about 11 years planning and obtaining consents.
Mr Bailey said he was feeling "a lot better" about the project now things were moving forward again.
"I'll get excited when they start putting rocks in the river."
The park is being funded by Contact as a mitigation measure as part of its suite of resource consents for the Clutha catchment, applied for in 2001.
