Little respite for dairy farmers and fruit growers on the drying Waimea Plains at the top of the South Island - where stringent water restrictions have cut allocations by 35 percent following an unprecedented water shortage in the Tasman region.

The council has moved to water level alert two, which means water allocations have been cut by 35 percent.

Water level alert two has never been reached in December before, and it's looking to move to level three next week.

Level three would mean a 50 percent cut in water allocations.

Tasman District Council Environment and Planning Manager, Denis Bush King, said the restriction applies to urban water supplies and irrigators on the plains.

"Well it means they have to use water wisely and conserve where they can, I guess looking forward if we are not going to get a big dump of rain then things might get worse."

Mr Bush King said no rain is forecast for the next few weeks.

"But as we move into January/February people like apple growers need the water to size up their fruit so they will find it hard as well."