Tamworth water supply: Tamworth Regional Council could ease water restrictions after Chaffey Dam hit 25 per cent

Tamworth's main water supply hit 25 per cent capacity on Thursday night.

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) mayor Col Murray said he will "absolutely" side with easing restrictions if the dam stays at 25 per cent during the weekend.

A statement from TRC said Cr Murray and general manager Paul Bennett had been delegated authority to alter restrictions, guided by the drought management plan.

TRC's plan indicates water restrictions for Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal could be dropped back when the dam hits 25 per cent.

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Tamworth has been on strict Level 5 restrictions for close to a year, and Cr Murray said easing the rules would raise morale.

"Whilst there's very little change ... from Level 5 to level 4, it just takes so much pressure off," Cr Murray said.

The lower level would mean the water use target for Tamworth residents would be upped from 150L per day to 200L per day.

The changes, if made, would come into effect on August 31.

Chaffey Dam was sitting at about 15 per cent capacity this time last month, but rainfall has boosted the supply.

"It's a positive sign and an enormous relief for the community," Cr Murray said on Friday.

"It's so encouraging after all this time to see the dam making those incremental gains instead of incremental losses."

He said he's hoping a wet spring might lead to restrictions rolling back even further.

Under TRC's drought management plan, Level 5 restrictions kick back in when the dam drops to 20 per cent full, or can be eased further with every additional ten per cent rise from here. Council is sourcing water for the city's needs from the full Dungowan Dam.

The milestone of a quarter full does not mean additional environmental water will flow out of the dam.

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