The city’s water board overstepped its authority when it started enforcing new leash laws for dogs at Fresh Pond without City Council approval, according to city councilors.

“We haven’t passed this ordinance, but the Water Board has already put it into effect,” said City Councilor Michael Sullivan, who said the move fosters a public distrust of government.

This week, City Manager Bob Healy said that the move to allow only off-leash dogs from Cambridge at the reservation would be suspended until the City Council could vote on the measure.

Healy said someone at the Water Department anticipated a City Council vote on the program, “which they should never do without checking with me.”

The City Council is considering a proposal that would prohibit off-leash dogs from roaming Fresh Pond Reservation unless they had a new, city-issued “medallion” tag.

The medallion program would be available to Cambridge residents only. All out-of-towners will have to keep their four-legged friends on a leash that’s no more than 6 feet long, according to the proposal.

The Water Department began handing out medallions April 1 and the program was scheduled to go into effect May 1, according to city officials. That process has now been halted.

About 50 dog owners showed up at this week’s City Council meeting to oppose the medallion program. The dog lovers wore neon green stickers reading, “My dog loves Fresh Pond.”

The dog owners have accused the Water Board of trying to ban dogs from the reservation, which holds the city’s water supply.

“No one’s trying to ban them. We just want it to be more organized,” said Deputy City Manager Rich Rossi. “The position that the city came to is that the water quality could be maintained at the same time that the dog owners could be responsible.”

Rossi said that privileges, such as off-leash rights, for dogs and dog owners have expanded only since the early 1970s. Rossi said the newest proposal would give preferential treatment to dog owners living in Cambridge. Dog owners from neighboring communities, who often lack areas where dogs are allowed, would still be able to use the reservation but without off-leash rights, according to Rossi.

Sullivan, who co-chairs the ordinance subcommittee overseeing the proposal, told the dog owners that the proposal before the City Council is separate from the ban on dogs on Fresh Pond grass.

Water Department officials recently began enforcing a rule that requires all dogs to keep off mowed, grassy areas at Fresh Pond.

Vice Mayor Tim Toomey said he was hesitant to support more restrictions on people who use Fresh Pond. Toomey called for a separate hearing on the medallion program proposal so that all Fresh Pond users could work out a plan to share the reservation.

Said Toomey, “We have more people in the council chambers on this issue than we’ve had on any issue in years.”