The area was one of the hardest hit in the city during the one-in-50-year downpour which flooded streets and a caravan park and sparked 91 calls for help from the SES.

The council is still working on the final scope for the Japan Street project, but the green light for any works would be dependent on budget priorities.

There is already a $1.1 million yearly shortfall in the city's finances to manage Warrnambool's ageing drainage network.

Last year a new report - the first of its kind done for the city - identified the large funding gap and found $2.4 million was needed to be set aside each year for the next decade.

That means the council would need to almost double the amount it sets aside to cover the operation, maintenance and upgrading of the city's entire drainage network which has been valued at $89.4 million.

The council would also need to foot the bill for about $740,000 worth of drainage works in the Coulstock Street precinct - a project which had the potential to put to an end the long-time flooding issues in Japan Street.

The proposed works have been slated for the next two-to-four years but have also been touted as bringing almost $500,000 a year in economic benefits.

Plans to address the "flooding hotspot" in Japan Street includes pumping some of the run-off to a nearby wetland to be created at Albert Park.

"Diverting this catchment, via pumping, can potentially provide relief for the flood-prone holiday park and surrounding areas within Japan Street," a report said.

The council said this week work was continuing on the final scope for the Japan Street project that would "likely result in decreased impacts from major flooding events".

It said planning would continue into design and construction phases - which were budget dependent - after the scoping investigations were complete.

The council also expects to have its new $500,000 Jet Vac truck, which was approved last year, to be delivered by the end of April which will be used to clean the city's drains.

New infrastructure director David Leahy said drainage was always a big challenge and no council could afford to build anything that was foolproof.

"There's always going to be some flooding events we need to deal with," he said.

Mr Leahy said with Warrnambool having such a wet climate, it had a bigger challenge that most councils.

He said hopefully investment over time could alleviate the some of the flooding issues.

During Saturday's downpour, the city's floodgates were put to work along the Russells Creek flood walls - an area that underwent a $3.9 million upgrade in 2016.

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