While last week's welcome rainfall provided something of a green tinge, it fell well short of what we'd hoped for and even further short of anything to suggest the worst of the drought might be behind us.

And nothing more clearly illustrates the depth of this drought than the fact that last week's rain could not stop the water level at Ben Chifley Dam falling for another week.

Even as many homeowners took the chance to take a break from manually watering their garden as about 30mm of rain was recorded across the week, the dam level still fell for another week (though the rate was slightly slower than in previous weeks).

That tells us there is still some way to go before the parched land is soaked enough to finally allow the sort of run-off that will really help the dam.

And while we all wait for that day, Bathurst Regional Council has no option but to continue looking for ways to make the region's water last longer.

Council has this week indicated it is reviewing garden watering allowances for residents, with a clear suggestion that watering will either be banned or restricted even further in coming weeks.

That will particularly displease those homeowners with large (and expensive) gardens who had previously thought they would be safe from further restrictions until at least the end of summer.

And such a move will only increase some of the tensions that already exist in streets where people have become suspicious of their neighbours' watering habits.

While it refuses to properly rain, however, council might be left with little option.

But we wonder whether any exemptions to the tightened rules will allow for residents to continue watering trees.

While gardens might take just a season or two to replenish, as a city we cannot afford to lose the many established trees that stand in private backyards and on nature strips outside homes.

Such trees would become a danger if allowed to die and take decades to replace.

Residents should be allowed - and encouraged - to keep watering those trees to keep them alive, both for personal benefit and community benefit.

We'll have to wait and see where council stands.