Soaring temperatures and rapidly dropping river flows throughout the district have forced Tararua District Council to impose water restrictions.
"River flows have dropped dramatically over the past couple of weeks and this has reduced our daily water takes for towns, so it's essential we conserve water as we head towardsa very dry period," council spokesman Dave Watson said.
Showers predicted by the MetService in early December never arrived and the district has sizzled with temperatures reaching 30C on some days, leaving gardens and pastures parched.
This has forced the council to put a total hosing ban in place in Norsewood, while water restrictions apply throughout the rest of the Tararua, with soak hoses banned.
Water restrictions in Dannevirke mean homeowners can only water their gardens, using hand-held hoses, on alternate days.
"We hope water conservation now will delay or prevent the need for water bans later in the summer," Mr Watson said.
Meanwhile, the MetService is predicting showers for Dannevirke tomorrow and more again on Saturday, but Norsewood weather-watcher Lyn McConchie doubts this will come.
"There has been no rain in my area since 3mm on December 31 and in the past two or three weeks we've been told we're going to get showers, but nothing has eventuated.
"We've also had a hell of a lot of days when the temperature has been over 30C and gardeners in the district are really noticing how dry it is. A month or two of screaming gales has taken any moisture there was out of the ground too."
A lifestyle block owner, Ms McConchie said like others with dwindling water supplies, she was having to cull her steers and pigs early.
