The popular picnicking and tramping spot at Conroys dam near Alexandra could reopen for summer if all goes according to plan.
Department of Conservation (Doc) visitor and historic programme manager Anita Middlemiss said a Doc engineer had drawn up plans to improve the dam crossing and prevent people from damaging the outlet valve cover, and those plans were now with the Last Chance Irrigation Company, which owned the valve.
Once the plans are agreed to, a building consent will be sought.
"Our aim is to have it done by the summer as there is a lot of public use there," she said.
Six of the nine planks on the roof of the structure protecting the outlet valve controls were smashed by large rocks dropped over the dam wall in April, and a gate on the dam has been locked to keep out visitors.
The chairman of Last Chance Irrigation Company, Gavin Dann, said if the valve itself had been damaged, the impact on the dam would have been serious.
Conroys dam has been used to store water for irrigation since 1935.
