A city proposal calling for the removal of all obstructions from the Little River channel has been put on the back burner.
Council has agreed to defer the plan after a push back from residents demanding a better solution.
Tammy Kapsalis lives along Little River and says she'd like to see resources directed elsewhere.
"We don't think they really need to go to the excess that they're planning." she says. "Honestly, with the amount of flooding that we've had, there's bigger areas in the city that need a lot more funding as opposed to that area and I think if they just worked with us we can probably accommodate everybody and just come to a mutual agreement."
Kapsalis says residents are willing to work with the city.
"I pay taxes for a reason, to live here and to have access to the water. We take care of the property," explains Kapsalis. "So I don't see why we can't come to an agreement as to how we can maintain the area so that it's functional on both parts so that it does its job and it does for us as well."
Docks and boats along the Little River (by AM800's Peter Langille)
Many residents have spent a lot of time and money on their backyards.
"It's beautiful back there. You have everything back there. There's wildlife. It's great." she says. "You go out, you have the swans, you have the geese, you have the wood ducks, you have the mallards. That's your tranquil spot. There's a reason people are there on the water. They have their fishing boats. They go out fishing. You have 40 years of people doing that. That's a lot of money. People have thousands of dollars in their backyard and it's a shame."
The city's report gave residents a 60-day deadline to remove structures like docks, decks or gazebos that may interfere with the river's flood protection system.
The Little River drain serves 6,500 acres of land handling storm water for about a third of the city.