What are the trigger points for tougher water restrictions in Tamworth?

Level 5 restrictions are almost identical to Level 4, with the exception of reducing the city's daily consumption goal from 18.5 megalitres to 16.1 megalitres.

However, there are a number of emergency responses council can consider implementing, such as asking "non-essential" businesses to reduce their consumption by up to 50 per cent and investigating properties that are consistently exceeding usage targets.

Tamworth mayor Col Murray said the job of council's recently formed drought taskforce would be to consider the "trigger points" for further restrictions.

"Potentially, they could be when Chaffey hits 15 per cent, 10 per cent and five per cent," Cr Murray said.

"Also, we'll talk about where that trigger might be for when [water provision is] handed over to the local emergency services."

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Cr Murray said while Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal were weeks away from Level 5 restrictions, "we're not at an absolute crisis point yet".

"We just need to make sure we've got the right plans in place," he said.

"At this stage we are not considering that there is any threat to jobs, that'll be for much further on down the track.

"As Level 5 progresses, and if it progresses, that will be a much more pertinent subject.

"Council does go back and talk to large water users. The purpose of the taskforce is to consider what the implications are for all those different sectors.

"Things like nursing homes, the public hospital - there are lots of big water users apart from big businesses."

Earlier this week, The Leader revealed it could take up to 10 trains a day, each carrying 2.5 million litres of water, to meet Tamworth's water demands if the city ran out of water.

However, Cr Murray said he didn't "envision having that discussion for at least another year or so".

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