Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange president Neil Jones said Orange City Council was doing a good job of managing the affects of the drought and water restrictions but said more could be done.

"They should fill the duck ponds with bore water," he said.

Mr Jones said apart from helping the ducks it would also provide a psychological boost to people who were disappointed to see the pond levels down.

He said council should consider having leaflets printed to put in letter boxes across Orange to explain how people could use grey water on their gardens and for other uses to encourage more people to do it.

"Maybe even free buckets for every household" he said.

Mr Jones said he supported council's announcement last week that it would target business users to reduce their water use in the face of impending Level 6 water restrictions.

He said water needed to be valued higher by the community as it was a precious resource.

"There's been a long history of abusing the water we've got, whether it's in river or in storage. We're living in a changing climate, we need to get more serious about how we plan for the future," he said.

Mr Jones said there had been misinformation on social media over the Christmas and New Year holidays about water use which did not get answered by the council. He said dam levels and water usage figures were not updated on the council website in that period.

"It was disappointing the council were not a highly visible presence over those past three weeks," he said.

However, he said with the return to work of staff it had since been rectified. "Under the circumstances I think council is doing a very good job of managing the low water," he said.