Draft Programme as at 28 Aug 2026
Day 1: Understanding Legacy Risk – Built by the Past, Assessed for the Future
Sponsored by
| Time | ||
| 9.00 AM – 9.15 AM | Mihi whakatau | |
| 9.15 AM – 9.30 AM | Chair’s Welcome Andrew Balme, Genesis | |
| 9.30 AM – 10.10 AM | Keynote Presentation Dr Lianne Lefsrud, University of Alberta, Canada | |
| 10.10 AM – 10.30 AM | “A starting point: what is the current recommended practice to manage legacy risk” Brian Benson, Damwatch Engineering | |
| 10.30 AM – 11.00 AM | Morning Tea Sponsored by Genesis | |
| 11.00 AM – 12.00 PM | Flood hazard, adaptation and resilience | |
| 11.00 AM – 11.20 AM | Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi – Stopbank Design Challenges Dr Rajika Jayaratne, GWRC Bill Veale & Margela Andrews, Damwatch Engineering | |
| 11.20 AM – 11.40 AM | Back to the Future for Probable Maximum Precipitation David Payne, Mercury | |
| 11.40 AM – 12.00 PM | The Importance of Stopbank Breach Modelling for Assessing Legacy Flood Risk in the Hawkes Bay Cameron Paintin & Thomas Wallace, Tonkin & Taylor | |
| 12.00 PM – 1.00 PM | Lunch Sponsored by Genesis | |
| 1.00 PM – 2.30 PM | Concurrent session 1a: Seismic hazard assessment | Concurrent session 1b: Surveillance and monitoring |
| 1.00 PM – 1.20 PM | Seismic Stability Assessment of the Mangamahoe Dams Dave Heard & Eli Maynard, Riley Consultants | Managing a dam from construction through to operations Alasdair Mawdsley, Waimea Water & Andrew Kilby, Damwatch Engineering |
| 1.22 PM – 1.42 PM | Comparing on-fault seismicity and probabilistic seismic hazard from inversion Govinda Niroula, Damwatch Engineering | From Uplift Risk to Resilience: Drain Rehabilitation and Smart Monitoring at Moawhango Dam Andrew Balme, Genesis & Christopher Davy, Damwatch Engineering |
| 1.44 PM – 2.04 PM | Enhancing Seismic Risk Understanding for High-Impact Dams through Site-Specific Investigations Vis Chen, Engineering Geology | Using InSAR to monitor landslides Joe Wheeler, Contact Energy |
| 2.06 PM – 2.26 PM | Modern Seismic Assessment of Existing Concrete Dams: Managing Legacy Risk through Advanced Numerical Modelling Mojtaba Farrokh, Abuild | Do you know your limits? Tim Mills, Meridian |
| 2.30 PM – 3.00 PM | Afternoon tea Sponsored by Genesis | |
| 3.00 PM – 3.20 PM | TBC | |
| 3.20 PM – 3.40 PM | TBC | |
| 3.40 PM – 4.00 PM | Built to Yesterday’s Knowledge, Managed to Today’s Standards: The Growing Challenge of Legacy Dam Safety Deficiencies Imteaz Bhuiyan, Mercury | |
| 4.00 PM – 4.45 PM | Panel discussion: The Growing Challenge of Legacy Dam Safety Deficiencies Facilitator: Imteaz Bhuiyan, Mercury | |
| 4.45 PM – 5.00 PM | Social Function details, summary of the day and closing | |
| 6.00 PM – 10.00 PM | Social Function – Terrace Kitchen Sponsored by Riley Consultants | |
The final programme may differ from the above and can be amended by the Organising Committee before final programme announcement.
Day 2: Managing Legacy Risk – Turning Insight into Action
Sponsored by
| Time | ||
| 9.00 AM – 9.15 AM | Day 2 Welcome Dewi Knappstein, Tonkin & Taylor | |
| 9.15 AM – 10.00 AM | Keynote Presentation Chris Topham, GHD | |
| 10.00 AM – 10.30 AM | Morning Tea Sponsored by Anderson Lloyd | |
| 10.30 AM – 12.00 PM | Concurrent session 2a: Risk-Informed Decision‑Making | Concurrent session 2b: Broader considerations for legacy risk – governance, contractual, and infrastructure |
| 10.30 AM – 10.50 AM | New South Wales Risk Assessment Process – a tool for managing legacy risk in NZ? Joanna Petheram, Beca | Monitoring and Maintenance Matter: contractual arrangements that reduce legacy risk Steve O’Dea, Anderson Lloyd |
| 10.52 AM – 11.12 AM | Legacy Infrastructure and compliance: Navigating building consent requirements Peter Fox & Jim Walker, Meridian, Miguel Rocha, Dam Safety Intelligence | Building Consents and existing dams Danielle Hooper, Waikato Regional Council |
| 11.14 AM – 11.44 AM | Managing Legacy Spillway Gate Risk: A System Level Functional Safety Approach to Prioritising Safety Upgrades Chris Bonner, Mercury | Setting up a Dam Safety Governance Group Peter Fox, Meridian |
| 11.46 AM – 12.06 PM | Doing More with Less: Risk-Informed Resource Allocation for Large Dam Portfolios Josh Colley, Riley Consultants | Towards a Unified Language for Risk: A Proposal for a National New Zealand Potential Failure Mode (PFM) Schema Miguel Rocha, Dam Safety Intelligence |
| 12.10 PM – 1.00 PM | Lunch Sponsored by Anderson Lloyd | |
| 1.00 PM – 2.30 PM | Concurrent session 3a: Compliance with the Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022 for legacy assets | Concurrent session 3b: Rehabilitation and upgrade projects |
| 1.00 PM – 1.20 PM | Inherited Risk, Deliberate Action: Lessons from Managing a Legacy Dam Portfolio at Scale Kevin Ng, Xavier Bradley Tonkin & Taylor Jessan Revalde, Auckland Council | Karapiro Dam Intake Gate Replacement – “Go to Whoa” Joselito Villena & Bede Geoghegan, Mercury |
| 1.22 PM – 1.44 PM | Speed Rigour and Scale: Implementing and Managing Dam Safety Programmes Across a Diverse Portfolio of Dams at Tiaki Wai Alexi Duque,Tiaki Wai & Tung Hoang, Tonkin & Taylor | Evaluation of Jet Grouting Trials for treating erodible sediments at Arapuni Dam: Design and Dam Safety Implications Etaoin Friel, Damwatch Engineering & Tom Newson, Mercury |
| 1.46 PM – 2.06 PM | Implementing the Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022: Dual Perspectives from Practice and Ownership Rebecca Polvere, Damwatch Engineering & Brendan Sheehan, Mt Arum Engineering | Restoring a Resilient Future: The Journey from an Incomplete Construction to A Functional Dam Kurt Davies, Engineering Geology |
| 2.08 PM – 2.28 PM | How GDC are Managing Legacy Risk Through the Dam Safety Regulatory Journey for the Mangapoike Dams Rebecca Polvere, DamwatchEngineering & Judith Robertson, Gisborne District Council | Managing Legacy Risk in an Ageing Dam Appurtenant Structure: Lessons from the Senanayake Samudraya Sluice Tower Crack Repair Sanath Gunasena |
| 2.30 PM – 3.00 PM | Afternoon Tea Sponsored by Anderson Lloyd | |
| 3.00 PM – 3.20 PM | Large-scale laboratory testing of Cobb Dam materials – reducing uncertainties in the performance assessment of a 75 – year – old dam Don Tate, Riley Consultants & Kaley Crawford Flett | |
| 3.20 PM – 3.40 PM | TBC | |
| 3.40 PM – 3.55 PM | Growing Capabilities and Succession Planning Katy Cottingham, Dam Safety Intelligence | |
| 3.55 PM – 4.25 PM | Panel discussion: Building Organisational Support for Risk-Informed Decision Making Facilitator: Katy Cottingham, Dam Safety Intelligence | |
| 4.25 PM – 4.45 PM | Reflection, summary of the day and closing | |
| 4.45 PM – 6.00 PM | Network – drinks and nibbles | |
The final programme may differ from the above and can be amended by the Organising Committee before final programme announcement.