The Taranaki Regional Council transferred its Building Act responsibilities to Environment Waikato in 2008 for efficiency reasons.
Initial enquiries about dams can be made to the Director — Resource Managment, Taranaki Regional Council. The Taranaki Regional Council still deals with resource consents for dams under the Resource Management Act. There are few existing or expected large dams in the region required to be consented under the Building Act.
Building a dam
This page provides initial information to all those who own a dam or canal, or are planning to construct, modify or remove a dam, canal or a structure associated with a dam. All dams must comply with the NZ Building Code, and all large dams (over 3 metres in height and retaining more than 20,000 cubic metres of water or other fluid) require a building consent. Medium to large dams are also likely to require a resource consent under the Resource Management Act.
A dam's safety is dependent on its design, construction and how it's managed, operated and maintained so there are a number of requirements to take into account.
Applications forms, brochures and checklists
Downloadable documents from the Environment Waikato website can be accessed by clicking here. These are subject to change from time to time, so if you print a hard copy please check that it’s up to date. See also the related links in the navigation panel at right.
The Taranaki Regional Council also holds some brochures on the consent processes and the Dam Safety Scheme.
Dams register
The Taranaki Regional Council and other Regional Councils are required under the Building Act to maintain a register of all dams no matter their size for their respective regions.
The register enables Councils to contact dam owners on matters of importance to them, such as new regulations and guidance material on dam safety. If you own a dam, then you should check with the Council whether your dam should be on the register.
For Taranaki dam owners, there is no cost for having details on the register. To do so, freephone 0800 736 222, or email consents@trc.govt.nz.