ORANGE is set to gain a reprieve from tougher water restrictions, with councillors voting to stay on level four a little longer. They supported a motion from mayor Reg Kidd to set the level five trigger at 30 per cent, rather than 35 per cent based on below-target household water usage. Preserving water also influenced councillors' decision to renege on an earlier decision to allow non-powered boating and fishing on Spring Creek Dam. But the other environmental issue raised, a push to declare a climate emergency, received little support from the chamber, despite a galley full of residents wearing red and bearing signs. Cr Kidd said the council had supported several climate-friendly projects and the Blackmans Swamp Landcare was the first urban group in the state. The Wood Bank program was given an extra $3500 and the 2019-20 budget passed. The developer behind the Quest received the green light for modifications to its building. The council will not make a formal submission on Charles Sturt University's expansion in Leeds Parade ahead of a decision by the Western Joint Regional Planning Panel, with hopes it will pass more easily via electronic determination.