Villagers have been campaigning for flood barriers to protect their homes but their pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears.
Some of the residents have only just moved back into their homes after the floods of 2007 in the village of Darfield, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
Now hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent to create a herringbone fish ladder out of huge boulders on the River Dearne.
Fish ladders are used to help migrating fish pass around barriers such as dams or locks by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps
John Bannister, a Darfield flood committee member, said: "A massive crane has to lift these boulders some of which are the size of a family saloon car.
"The project has gone on for months with hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on the scheme. I can't believe this mass of boulders in the river won't affect the water level.
"Everyone here feels defeated. Do the powers that be care more for fish than people? That's what it seems to come down to.
"We've got an Environment Agency, what about a People's Agency? Whenever it rains everyone near the river here panics.
"Flood defences and finding the funding for them should have taken top priority. Nothing is in place to guarantee our safety in the future."
Local councillors say they were not fully consulted about the fish ladder which was given the go-ahead by Barnsley Council last year.
The Environment Agency led the work which has seen the river stocked with eels, a car park built, fishing ramps and canoe launch points.
Jerome Masters, the Environment Agency's fisheries technical officer said: "We successfully applied for funding from Defra and used income generated from the sale of rod licences. This funding could only be used for ecological and recreational improvements."
He said the area had been improved for wildlife such as fish, otters and kingfishers.
