PORTLAND (AP) – More than 1,000 dams are in Maine, and many of them are more than a century old. But the condition of many of the structures – which could damage property or endanger lives if breached – is in question.

State law says dams that could present a significant hazard if breached must be inspected every four years. The condition of high-hazard dams, whose failure could cause death, must be checked every two years.

Records at the Maine Emergency Management Agency do not show how often dams have been inspected because not every inspection is followed up with a written report, according to the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Records on file do not always give an accurate picture of the condition of Maine’s dams. Records on the Orono Water Works Dam, for example, say the structure is intact. The dam, which is located in the town of Bradley, is also classified as a significant-hazard dam, which means its failure could cause major economic loss.

But the dam’s owner, the Orono-Veazie Water District, said the dam has been breached for decades and is not holding any water back.

Maine’s only dam inspector for the last eight years has not visited the Orono Water Works Dam, MEMA spokeswoman Lynette Miller acknowledged. But Miller said she believes the agency is very close to meeting the inspection schedule laid out in the state’s dam-safety law.

Dams classified as high-hazard are generally in at least fair condition, MEMA says. Officials say they have concerns about less than half of the roughly 80 state-regulated significant-hazard dams.

The lapse in inspections is nothing new. In 1996, after dams in Bridgton and Alfred were breached, the office of Gov. Angus King acknowledged that dams were not being inspected regularly.