The Otago Regional Council is required by law to update its policy on overseeing dangerous dams, but it is still hampered by a lack of dam safety regulations.
The council's policy and submissions committee chairman Cr Michael Deaker recently told the committee it was "ludicrous" that after many years, some key Government regulations had still not been put in place.
Dams are expected to withstand a moderate flood event and a moderate earthquake, but regulations quantifying what is intended by such "moderate" events have still not been drawn up.
The council could act if dams could fail "in the ordinary course of events" but problems arose over some less immediate threats, such as involving moderate floods or earthquakes, council officials said.
Cr Deaker said it was still difficult for the council and Otago dam owners to precisely quantify what was meant by "dangerous" in some cases.
This was slightly "embarrassing", given the council was this year required under the Building Act to update its "dangerous dams" policy and to consult the public about it, he said in an interview.
Otago had many dams, including some constructed in the 1920s or 1930s, and the long-term safety of some was uncertain, he said.
The council plans to notify its proposed amended policy tomorrow, and public submissions close on July 19.
Approached for comment, a spokesman at the Building and Housing Department said the Government was "considering changes" to the dam safety scheme as a result of an independent review of it last year.
"Promulgation of regulations on earthquake-prone dams (including defining a moderate earthquake) will not proceed in the interim."
It was hoped "the direction of the desired changes" would be evident by the end of this year.
"Work is still being undertaken on the wider consenting system and this will be taken into consideration during this process."
Regional councils already had statutory powers to take action against dams they deemed to be dangerous and could act immediately if they considered any dam posed "an immediate danger to people, property or the environment", the spokesman said.
