Gore District Council is hoping a new water source will provide a long-term solution to the Southland town's supply issues.
A lack of rainfall last summer caused water shortages and severe restrictions, and a drought was declared across Southland and parts of Otago. More hot, dry weather last week saw rivers at critical levels again.
Ian Davidson-Watts of Gore District Council says droughts will become more frequent, "so we need to get in the mindset of actually thinking about every drop we use".
The town of Gore's existing water supply draws from underground aquifers connected to the Mataura River. And when the river gets low, so do the aquifers.
To maintain normal levels the Mataura River has to flow above 30 cubic metres per second. But last summer the river fell as low as 12, a critical level for the town.
The council faced criticism when it put in place severe water restrictions last summer.
"We're currently consulting on some by-law changes about water restrictions. The current system of water restrictions is a little bit old and needs updating," Mr Davidson-Watts said.
Now the council is hoping to future-proof its water supply with a new bore.
Matthew Bayliss, 3 Waters manager, said the well will be just over 10 metres deep, "so that extra depth will just give us a little bit more resilience when the aquifer levels get low."
But locals say the water problems in Gore are nothing new. And it's not just supply that's an issue, with leaks and old pipes adding to the problem.
"It's been going for 20-odd years and it just seems to be getting thrown under the carpet," Beth Campbell of Campbell's Garden Centre in Gore said.
"Some cities don't seem to have the issues that we have as a small town," she said.
The council says the issue is being looked at by a new water taskforce.
"We're doing a lot of leak detection work. That's been ramped up just to try and stem the flow of leaks on a very old infrastructure," Mr Davidson-Watts said.
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