Great Lakes communities in Stroud, Bulahdelah, Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest can hold their collective heads high reducing their water usage levels substantially since level four restrictions were introduced in late November.
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"It's really important that we all reduce our water use now, to ensure our various plans to supplement the water supply will be successful, and we'll be able to continue to supply the region through this drought," MidCoast Council infrastructure and engineering services director, Rob Scott said.
Mr Scott said the response from the small towns, which also included Gloucester, had been inspiring.
"Residents have got the message and are complying with severe restrictions, with their seven-day average water usage figures at or below their target levels."
However, residents living in the Great Lakes-Manning - which sources water from both the Bootawa Storage and the Nabiac Aquifer - have some work to do, only meeting the target on average two days every week, Mr Scott said.
"We want to encourage everyone in the Manning and Great Lakes to continue to find more ways to save water.
"We can see there's been a good reduction in normal summer water usage, but we are not there yet."
You can see your area's water usage each day, by visiting the MidCoast Council watertracker page.
Figures are updated every week day, so weekend usage can be seen on the Monday morning.
The Manning and Great Lakes area is aiming to use 17 megalitres or less every day, in order to meet severe level four restriction targets, Mr Scott said.
"Most days, we're hovering around the 20-23 megalitres mark, which we'd really like to see come down now, before the heat of summer hits.
"Meeting our targets is critical; we need to use less water every day and produce as much as possible from our alternatives.
"This way the water in the storage will last longer and we will be able to avoid level five emergency restrictions this summer.
"If we can lower our daily usage to below 17 megalitres a day, the Manning-Great Lakes supply will last into next year without any further rainfall.
"If we all work together and comply with severe water restrictions, our modelling shows that we will be able to produce enough water to get by."
As just one of the measures to safeguard the water supply, council has completed the installation of four additional production bores on the Nabiac borefield, boosting the aquifer system's capacity from six to eight megalitres per day.
This has taken some of the pressure off Bootawa Dam by reducing the amount of water required to keep up with the daily usage.
The NSW Government has supported council's drought response plans with $1 million in funding for critical infrastructure associated with the Drought Response Project.
Expansion of the Nabiac borefield will continue over the next few months, well ahead of the original schedule of 2025.
This will see a further eight bores installed by the end of February, increasing production at Nabiac to at least 12 megalitres per day with further expansion being investigated through use of a portable desalination plant.
"What we really need is for everyone to get on board with water restrictions - that means no outdoor water use for most of the Mid Coast, and reducing water use indoors as much as possible."
For full information and to see frequently ask questions, visit the water restrictions page HERE.
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