Ngā whakaritenga haumaru pāpuni

Dam safety regulations

The government is introducing new dam safety regulations to protect people, property and the environment from the potential impacts of a dam failure.

You should know

We asked for your feedback on the draft Dangerous Dams Policy. The consultation closed on 7 December 2023.

To find out what happens next, see Dam Safety Regulations and Dangerous Dams Policy.

To read more about your legislative responsibilities under the dam safety regulations, visit the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website.

Purpose of the regulations

The aim of the regulations is to ensure that dams over a certain height or storage capacity are:

well operated and maintained
regularly monitored.

The regulations provide a consistent, nationwide framework by setting out minimum safety standards for dams in New Zealand.

Dams affected by the regulations

The government has changed the definition of a ‘classifiable dam’ in regulation 5 of the Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022.

The regulations will now apply to dams that have a height of four or more metres and store 20,000 or more cubic metres of water or other fluid.

The regulations will no longer apply to dams that are less than four metres in height, regardless of their storage volume.

What dam owners need to do

From 13 May 2024, owners of classifiable dams will need to:

confirm the risk their dam would pose in the event of failure
put in place dam safety plans
undertake regular dam inspections.

Dam owners will have three months from the date the regulations take effect to register the dam details with us.

For new dams, owners will have three months from the date the dam is commissioned to register the details with us.

Read more about the responsibilities of dam owners on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Building Performance website or on the Waikato Regional Council website.

Resources for dam owners

You can find resources, including a tool to help calculate the volume of your dam and templates listing the information you need to provide to regional authorities, on the Building Performance website.

Existing dams registration and guide

Read our guide for detailed information on how to comply with the Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022.

If you have an existing dam on your property, fill in our form so we can:

keep our dam register up to date
provide you with appropriate support and resources to help you meet Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022.

Select all

AC2418 Review of existing dams registration form AC2418 Review of existing dams registration form PDF 153.1 KB
AC2419 Guidance for review of existing dams AC2419 Guidance for review of existing dams PDF 484.2 KB

Responsibilities of recognised engineers

The regulations also set out responsibilities for recognised engineers.

Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau, as the registration authority for chartered professional engineers, is responsible for assessing and registering recognised engineers.

Together with the New Zealand Society on Large Dams (NZSOLD), they have developed the framework and registration process for recognised engineer qualifications and competencies to be assessed.

Read more about the responsibilities of recognised engineers on the Engineering New Zealand website.

Contact us about a dam

To ask us a question about dam safety regulations or provide us with safety documentation for your dam, email:

damsafetyteam@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz