The two decisions were the only ones made in what was mostly general discussion on the water situation.

There were several questions on the point of holding a meeting given the council made announcements last week on the transition to level six in May if it fails to rain.

What those restrictions will entail for businesses also remain unknown, with the council still reviewing possibilities.

Chief executive officer David Waddell told councillors staff reserved the right to do so.

"There's no point having restrictions that are pointless," he said.

He did, however, confirm staff had 19 project possibilities to grow Orange's supply.

The garden-watering trial will last a month and would allow residents to water their gardens from 6pm-8pm on Sundays with the possible extension of also having a morning watering period from 6am-8am on Sundays.

However, the half-hour restriction on hose use would still apply.

Read the flow of debate in our live blog below: