Bathurst's Ben Chifley Dam at 56.9 per cent, expected to top 60 this week

But mayor Bobby Bourke says Bathurst Regional Council won't rush to ease the Level 5 water restrictions that have been in place since last October because long-term water security remains a key issue for the city.

Ben Chifley Dam was at 56.9 per cent capacity when Bathurst Regional Council took its weekly reading on Tuesday, up from 50.9 per cent a week earlier.

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The water level was up 808 millimetres and the dam was holding more than 17,000 megalitres, the highest level in almost two years.

The dam level is now 12 per cent higher than the same time last year and two per cent higher than this time in 2018.

Cr Bourke said council and the community should be congratulated for the work they have done and the sacrifices they have made during the water restrictions and pledged to start a discussion with other councillors on setting a timeline for easing those measures.

But he said residents should not expect immediate relief from the restrictions.

"By the end of the week the dam will probably be at 60 per cent or more. We don't want to go too early but it [easing restrictions] will be discussed," Cr Bourke said.

"It's fantastic to see the dam filling up after this time last year we had some councillors saying it was all doom and gloom. I don't think it was ever as bad as some were saying but the dam level has improved a lot on this time last year.

"I think council and community have worked together extremely well."

Cr Bourke said he expected two stormwater dams behind MacKillop College to be full within 12 months and that Bathurst would be in a better position to cope with future dry spells.

"I think a lot of people got their predictions wrong but that's going to happen because when it comes to predicting the weather you need a crystal ball, and none of us have one of them."

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The dam level has risen by an average of one per cent a week for the past six months, following a four-month period where the level dropped an average of one per cent each week.

The Bathurst region has already received more rain in 2020 than it did for the entire year in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and there is more on the way this week.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the region can expect up to 3mm of rain on Thursday, 6mm on Friday and more showers, and snow, on Saturday.

Winburndale Dam is at 88.1 per cent capacity.