Waipawa woman Paula Fern has discovered an official report which shows half the town could be washed away if the proposed Ruataniwha dam in central Hawke's Bay fails.
The 83-metre dam is to be built on the Mohaka fault line.
A report by Hawke's Bay Regional Council said if the dam wall collapsed, 90 million cubic metres of water would be sent through Waipawa, putting half of the town's 2000 people at risk.
Ms Fern said she is angry that Central Hawke's Bay District Council and Hawke's Bay Regional Council are not actively informing the public about the potential damage.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council said the proposal incorporates features designed to prevent a such a failure from occurring.
Central Hawke's Bay mayor Peter Butler said he would have no concern about living in Waipawa.
He told Morning Report there are places in New Zealand that are potentially much more dangerous, but people keep living in them.
The Ruataniwha dam will be built on the Mohaka Fault line. Photo: Dougal Townsend, GNS Science
Engineer's comment
A water resources engineer David Leong says the report is a worst-case scenario. Tonkin and Taylor was commissioned by the Hawkes Bay Regional Council to review its in-house report on the Ruataniwha dam.
Mr Leong said the point of the report was to determine the consequences of a breach to find out what design standards need to be applied to the construction of the dam.
He said a breach would be highly unlikely if the dam is built, and if a breach were to happen, there would be enough time to evacuate the town.
