In January 2020 Tamworth residents were forced to stick to strict Level 5 water rules, while this year, the restrictions had dropped all the way back to Level 1.

Despite the drastic change, water-wise locals used almost the same amount of the precious resource per day, on average, in January 2020 and January 2021.

Tamworth Regional Council statistics revealed about 19.71ML per day gushed through the taps last month in Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal, compared to 18.9ML per day during the same time in January 2020.

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A council spokesperson told the Leader a combination of causes could be the reason for the city's water-wise ways.

"The low consumption this January can be attributed to cooler than average temperatures for this time of year," the spokesperson said.

The last time Tamworth was on Level 1 water restrictions was in January 2019. But, the city clocked up more than double the water use per day during that month than users did during January 2021, when the same rules were in place.

The spokesperson also credited residents with being conscious not to waste a drop.

"There is also no doubt that the low consumption rates can be also attributed to the water-wise habits that residents adopted over the last two years," the spokesperson said.

"Residents should be commended for this behaviour, and council encourages all residents to continue to consider how they can continue to be water-wise in their homes all year round."

Tamworth Regional Council has not had to order water from Chaffey Dam - which is usually the city's main supply - for months.

Instead, council tapped into the storage at Dungowan Dam and the flowing Peel River.

Heading into summer, there was concern council might have to order water from the dam, if the city's demand for the wet stuff exceeded how much could be sent through the Dungowan pipeline.

"The low water consumption rates have also meant that council has been able to utilise water from Dungowan Dam, the Scott Road Drift Wells and flows in the Peel River over the month of January to meet demand," the spokesperson confirmed.

The average daily maximum temperature in Tamworth in January 2021 was 30.8 degrees, compared to 36.3 in 2020 and 37.9 in 2019.