The Clutha District Council may investigate drainage and flooding issues at Paterson Creek, near Tapanui.
The long-standing flooding of residential properties by Paterson Creek was brought to the council's attention by the West Otago Community Board in 2012.
At its meeting last week, the board voted to recommend the council increase the Tapanui stormwater budget by $25,000 to carry out an issues and options report for the creek.
The project would be funded from depreciation reserves.
Community board chairwoman Barbara Hanna said issues with Paterson Creek had been ''going on'' for years.
She said the $25,000 was only for the investigation, not for any work needed to address the issues.
The recommendation is due to come before the council next month.
A council report tabled at the meeting said the report would involve reviewing and preparing options to ''safely convey'' stormwater in Paterson Creek.
The study will include creating a rainfall runoff model to assess the amount of runoff that needs to be channelled, assess the capacity of the existing piped/creek system, assess the suitability of renewing or retrofitting of the existing system and explore potential realignment options.
Acting council chief executive Alan Dickson said the report was the first step in addressing drainage and flooding issues.
The council previously said the creek was a natural watercourse with sections of open waterway and others confined within pipes of various sizes, materials and ages.
It was only a council responsibility where it traversed council property.
An initial council report found various modifications had been made to the creek but very few of them, if any, were believed to be up to required standards.
Parts of the creek ran through undersized pipes, some of them in poor condition.
Flooding occurred as the waterway capacity was inadequate to deal with peak discharges.
