Norma Emerson, of Middlemarch, speaking at a Strath Taieri Community Board meeting last week raised concerns about the Otago Regional Council stopping the cleaning of March Creek.
The council started cleaning the creek before lockdown but she believed the work was stopped by Otago Fish & Game because of a fish spawning season.
She wanted both parties to come to an arrangement so the creek cleaning could resume.
The Middlemarch creek overflowed when the village was "severely flooded" in November 2018.
The floodwater entered the stormwater system and sewage swamped her restaurant, Tap & Dough Bistro.
The flooding forced the closure of her business for three months and "resulted in a huge loss of income".
If a similar flooding event happened again it would close her business for good, she said.
Later in the meeting, board chairman Barry Williams moved the ORC and Otago Fish & Game provide an update on the cleaning of the creek to lower the flood risk.
"Otherwise, sadly, it’s going to happen again."
Dunedin City Council 3 Waters group manager Tom Dyer, who was at the meeting, said he would contact the ORC and ask the reason the creek cleaning was stopped and whether it was because of fish life, and if so, what type of fish life, plus what creek cleaning was planned and when it would resume.
Board member Leann Frew seconded the motion and everybody voted in favour.
