A flood-prone creek in Middlemarch will be cleaned by Christmas, the Otago Regional Council says.
At a Strath Taieri Community Board meeting in August, Norma Emerson, of Middlemarch, raised concerns about the council stopping an excavator clearing March Creek.
She wanted the work to resume because the creek overflowed and flooded the village in November 2018.
Floodwater entered the stormwater system and sewage swamped her restaurant, Tap & Dough Bistro.
In August, the board requested the council provide reasons for the work stopping and when it would resume.
A written response from council engineering manager Michelle Mifflin
said Covid-19 restrictions stopped the work but when restrictions were lifted the work could not resume due to fish spawning protections.
She expected the clearing of the creek would be scheduled for next month and December.
The channel constrictions of the creek were only one of the contributing factors to flooding in Middlemarch, Ms Mifflin said.
At the meeting, board members supported a Central Otago District Council application for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority co-funding to establish a ChargeNet-owned EV fast charger in Middlemarch.
The application indicates a charger would be installed in Browns Rd, off State Highway 87, near the public toilet block and would be operational by next month.
