In 2013, two floods six months apart sent gravel down the river, which blocked the mouth at Lake Te Anau, flooding about 12ha of nearby farmland and water almost reached the town's sewage ponds.
Environment Southland (ES), the regional council, carried out emergency clearance work and the New Zealand Transport Agency contributed about $160,000 to clear the river upstream of the Milford road bridge but no agreement has been reached on how best to fix the 900m stretch from the bridge to the lake.
Members of the Upukerora River liaison group wanted an "intervention'' to straighten the main river channel, but ES favoured using rocks to protect the edges of the entire riverbed and allowing floodwaters to flow within them, ES catchment manager Noel Hinton said.
Either way, the work could cost up to $200,000, he said.
One reason for the delay has been another project in Te Anau involving the Southland District Council's proposed upgrade of the sewage treatment station, Mr Hinton said.
However, the SDC had decided the ponds would stay and ratepayers would benefit from flood-repair works, meaning the district council would contribute to work on the Upukerora River.
Just before Easter, ES councillors resolved to set up a working party to try to resolve the issue.
Mr Hinton said membership would comprise representatives of the Te Anau Community Board, the river liaison group, the Southland District Council, and ES councillors Ross Coburn and Maurice Rodway, supported by ES staff.
He expected the group to meet within the next month and hoped a decision would be reached quickly on one technical option or the other.
Once that agreement was reached, the working party would decide how the cost was to be shared and would report back to Environment Southland, he said.
"The working party has six month to report on progress or to implement repairs. As far as I am concerned, I want the repairs done, the sooner the better.''
