Exactly one year since a breach at Kaloko Dam claimed the lives of seven Kaua'i residents, criminal and civil cases persist and the Legislature is still puzzling over how to overhaul the dam safety law to prevent a similar tragedy.

However, the state has made steady progress on its own after the disaster demonstrated deficiencies in its dam safety program, officials said yesterday.

The state came under severe criticism when it was disclosed that the Department of Land and Natural Resources had never once inspected the Kaloko Dam, which an independent investigator determined failed because its spillway had been covered up.

"We're working hard now to ensure that a tragedy such as this does not occur again," said Peter Young, director of Land and Natural Resources.

At a news conference yesterday, Young emphasized several of the steps the state has taken since the Kaloko Dam failure.

All 136 state-regulated dams have been inspected at least twice, and most were re-inspected after the Oct. 15 earthquakes.

As a result of the inspections, two dams were breached to avoid problems in the future.

Otherwise, the inspections by the Army Corps of Engineers showed no other dams or reservoirs were in imminent danger of failure.

"We've learned a lot (over the past year) and know we can't have any lapse in inspections," said state Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Robert Lee.

Lee reassured residents that the dams across the state are safe at this point. "We'll continue the checks. We'll be very vigilant and make sure they're safe for the people of Hawai'i."

The Kaloko Dam tragedy is changing the way the state assesses the hazard risks of its dams, which is based not on the condition of the dam, but the potential for loss of life and property damage if it fails.

"Kaloko was classified as a low hazard dam," Young said.

However, the early morning breach a year ago sent 300 million gallons of water from the reservoir to the sea, washing over dirt, trees, buildings and equipment.

It also killed Daniel Arroyo, Christina McNees, Alan Dingwall, Aurora Fehring, Rowan Fehring-Dingwall, Wayne Rotstein and Timothy Noonan.

Bruce Fehring, whose property was home to several of the victims, declined to comment yesterday.

The state has contracted with the Pacific Disaster Center to conduct model simulations of what would happen if any of the dams across the state were to fail so that the state can reassess the hazard risk, as well as develop evacuation plans.

The $750,000 project is expected to be finished in May.

May will be too late for the Legislature to consider this study as it tries to strike a balance between public safety and agriculture needs when it strengthens the state's dam safety regulations.

The Legislature also will have to act before the outcome of a criminal investigation into the Kaloko breach by Attorney General Mark Bennett. "Our criminal investigation is continuing and it is our hope that it will be completed by the summer or the fall," he said. Three civil suits also are pending.

What the Legislature does have is a report by Robert Godbey, an attorney and engineer who was selected by Bennett to perform the civil investigation.

Godbey did not assign blame but has given the Legislature extensive recommendations on how to regulate the dams.

Those who rely on the dams for agricultural needs have raised concerns that over-regulation could drive the cost of maintaining dams so high that owners might decommission them.

This is of particular interest at Kaloko, where more than 20 farmers rely on water from the reservoir for their businesses.

Kaloko owner Jimmy Pflueger, who claims a lack of oversight caused the breach, has asked the state to stop the flow of water into the reservoir, but Young said the state will make no changes while the investigation continues.

Young expects that the regulations the Legislature adopts will fall in between the two extremes that already have been considered — one that incorporates almost all of Godbey's recommendations and one that includes none.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.