Dam safety regulations being developed
Regulations are being developed for a dam safety scheme as part of the wide-ranging reforms of the Building Act 2004.
The scheme seeks to ensure that dams are kept safe, the need for which is highlighted by New Zealand's seismic instability and the possibility of increased flooding as a result of climate change. The greater the potential impact, in terms of the dam's size and proximity to where people live, work and play, the more stringent safety compliance will be.
Dams will be categorised as low, medium or high potential impact, with medium and high potential impact dams requiring a dam safety assurance programme.
About 1150 'large' dams will be affected. 'Large' will be regarded as having a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres, which is about the size of eight Olympic-sized swimming pools or a rugby field with water up to the crossbar. Councils own about 700 of these dams, about 50 are owned by power generation companies and the remaining 400 or so are on rural properties.
A summary of submissions received to a consultation paper Regulations for the Dam Safety Scheme: Discussion Document is being prepared for sending to the 58 individuals or organisations that made submissions, and to other interest groups.
Submissions are being taken into account in the development of regulations setting out the fine print of the scheme and its technical detail.
The major change proposed as a result of consultation is for a 2-year lead-in time, rather than the originally proposed 3 months, before the regulations take effect. This will give dam owners, the engineering profession (particularly the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand) and regional councils adequate time to prepare for the scheme. It is proposed that dam owners will have 3 months from that date to meet the requirements of the scheme in terms of having their dam's potential impact level certified.
The Department is targeting providing draft regulations to the Government for consideration in August/September.