Planning for a new permanent stopbank in Edgecumbe is under way with a drill in place to get a detailed picture of what lies beneath the surface.
The geotechnical drill is set up on College Rd near the site where the Rangitaiki River breached its banks after a deluge from ex-cyclone Debbie in April.
The drill will gather information needed to plan for the construction of the new stopbank.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council engineering manager, Mark Townsend, said while the permanent stopbank solution wasn't expected to be built until later in the year the process had started with the data provided by the large-scale rig.
"We are in the process of planning for a new permanent stopbank along that stretch of College Rd to replace the floodwall that failed in April.