That is among the measures under tighter water restrictions aimed to prolong water supplies amid the intense drought.

The process of turning off beachside showers, and taps in parks and outdoor council facilities has started, and will take about a week, after councillors voted to introduce level four severe water restrictions.

Level 4 severe water restrictions will begin on Tuesday, January 28 for residents and businesses, and Tuesday, February 25 for commercial users.

Level 4 restrictions ban all outdoor residential use of drinking water and commercial operators are limited to critical use only.

There will be an exemption process in place.

Holidaymaker Margaret Paterson said we had to do what we could to conserve water.

Mrs Paterson said she would rather the beachside showers remained in use but she understood the reasoning behind the decision.

"Let's just hope it rains a lot soon," she said.

Sydneysider Tanya Dawson seeks out beaches with outdoor showers.

"That quick shower is very refreshing," she said.

"I think people need to be sensible and control the amount of time they are spending in an outdoor shower.

"If people were more sensible, perhaps we could find some compromise and balance."

Holidaymaker Dawn Parish believes everyone needs to do their bit to conserve water.

"Australia-wide there is a shortage of water so we have all got to be careful," she said.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has delayed implementation of level 4 water restrictions on commercial users until February 25, noting the potential significant impacts.

Council staff, in the meantime, will engage with commercial users about water saving measures to help minimise the economic impact of the restrictions.

A commercial user is a registered business which relies on the use of water as part of its business activities to produce an income.

For businesses which do not rely on water to produce an income, residential water restrictions apply.

An extraordinary council meeting on Wednesday, January 22 dealt with the issue of tighter water restrictions.

The combined level of Port Macquarie and Cowarra dams has dropped to just under 39 per cent.

Council director Dan Bylsma said the aim of level 4 severe water restrictions was to reduce overall demand by 20 per cent.

"Whilst we have received some much-needed rain in recent days, it will take several months of above average rainfall and at least four months of pumping from the Hastings River to increase our water storage to the level where we can relax level 4 severe water restrictions," he said.

"As we continue to be reliant on our stored water, as a community we need to continue to work together to conserve this limited supply.

"Should we receive little rain, and consumption remains consistent, we will continue to draw down our storages and may reach the trigger point for moving to "emergency" water restrictions within the next two months."

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