The announcement, made on Friday, will tighten residents’ water use from Saturday, December 1.

Level three restrictions – last introduced in Orange in 2007 – will impact on how and when residents can water gardens and lawns, wash cars, and fill pools and spas.

Garden beds, trees, shrubs and lawns may be watered using microsprays, drip systems and soaker hoses only between 6am-9am and 6pm–9pm every second day under the odds-and-evens house number system.

The use of hand held hoses and garden sprinklers is not permitted, while watering of new turf is allowed for one week after laying, after which the above restrictions will apply.

Washing cars is allowed on any day between 9am and noon, but vehicles must be washed on the lawn using only a bucket.

Pool and spa owners will also be impacted, with the first fill or topping up of a pool or external spas allowed only between 7am and 9am and 6pm and 8pm provided pool covers are in use.

The restrictions do not apply to rainwater and bore water, but if a household tank is topped up from council’s water supply system the level three restrictions need to be adhered to.

The tightening will be implemented in accordance with council procedures which state level three restrictions should be introduced when the city’s water supplies fall below 50 per cent capacity.

According to council, the combined storage of Suma Park and Spring Creek dams – Orange’s residential water sources – is currently at 50.4 per cent, and falling.

While the Bureau of Meteorology’s figures indicated Orange received 16 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday, and further rain that night, mayor Reg Kidd said the parched paddocks adjacent to Suma Park Dam meant there was little to no run-off into the dam.

However, council’s water team was able to harvest a one-off batch of around 28 mega litres of water from the Blackmans Swamp Creek stormwater harvesting system to add to local water storage.

On top of that the council will be able to harvest a further 21 megalitres from the Ploughmans Creek system into the stormwater holding dam over the coming week.

It’s expected that six megalitres a day of treated stormwater will start to be transferred into Suma Park Dam and will this will continue for about a month given current stormwater reserves.

“The community is currently using about 16 megalitres a day, so this six meg a day flow will slow down the gradual decline in our storage levels,” Cr Kidd said.

In some circumstances, businesses or residents can ask to be exempt from the current Water Restrictions.

Contact Council on 6393 8000 for information or apply at www.orange.nsw.gov.au/water.