However in lifting the restrictions the authority has said that it may be necessary to bring the restrictions in again if no significant rain is received in the long-term.

"At this stage we are anticipating our storage dam at Bootawa will be full by Monday, and this allows us to give our community a reprieve from restrictions," general manager Robert Loadsman said.

Mr Loadsman explained that the way in which the water supply system works means that once the dam is full - and as long as the Manning River has a reasonable flow - there is no need to restrict the way in which the community uses water.

"The system works with a relatively small storage that we are continually keeping full by pumping from the Manning River.

"It is when the river stops flowing and we have to rely on stored water that we need to put restrictions in place."

The way the system works, Mr Loadsman explained, is that restrictions generally come on quickly and end quickly - in this case, level three restrictions have been in place for just four weeks.

"What happens in the future will depend on river levels, so there is a chance we could have to look at going back to restrictions if no significant rain is received in the coming months."

Level 3 restrictions remain in place until Monday for residents of the Manning and Forster-Tuncurry areas. Level 3 restrictions will remain in place for Bulahdelah residents.