The Otago Regional Council confirmed this week it would only continue with the Water of Leith flood protection works and put the Lindsay Creek part of the works on hold.
This meant Lindsay Creek ratepayers in the area from Opoho Rd north would be removed from the direct benefit area for the targeted rate and placed in the indirect benefit zone.
A property with a $250,000 capital value that had been facing a $199 flood protection rate bill would now only be rated $10.67.
However, ratepayers had been charged the higher flood protection rate for many years in anticipation of the Leith Lindsay flood protection scheme going ahead.
Corporate services director Wayne Scott said he had considered the issue of the Lindsay Creek ratepayers' past contributions and found the expenditure to date on boulder traps and other protection work on the creek, as well as the purchase of flood-affected land and protection design work, was about equal to their contribution.
Ratepayers in that area should not feel that they had been hard done by, he said.
There was also the possibility more flood protection work for the creek could be looked at in the future and the funding of that would have to be considered again, he said.
The council would consider, in time, what it planned to do with the land along the creek it had already purchased, Mr Scott said.
As it had bought parts of sections which were at flood risk, the risk sat with the council.
With entire sections it had purchased, it was possible they could be on-sold with the at-risk portions carved off, Mr Scott said.
"No concrete work has been done on that."
