Otago Regional Council senior resource officer Colin Walker said an inspection of the water race would help determine whether the flooding problem lay within the council's jurisdiction.
"Usually we [ORC] only deal with watercourses. In this instance, the problem has arisen from . . . a private irrigation system," Mr Walker said.
The ORC would "have to be careful", as problems related to an irrigation system were not within its jurisdiction.
It was too soon to say whether earthworks, such as a bund to contain future outflows, would be implemented.
Wanaka police have not been able to determine who opened the race gate.
"There was no malice and there is no evidence at the scene to help determine who opened the water gate," Constable Mike Johnstone said.
