The Grey District Council is planning a contingency so residents can top up from a sanitary water supply point, while the entire region moves to a restricted fire season on Friday.
According to international long-range weather website www.yr.no there is no rain on the horizon until at least December 7, and then only 1.4mm, while another site www.weather.com predicts a 40% chance of rain on December 9 and a 60% chance four days later.
Fire brigades have dealt with a few minor calls in the dry conditions - a bonfire at Blaketown beach on Saturday night and scrub fires on beaches on Friday night and again yesterday.
However, just a few weeks of no rain and it was already reaching the stage where a small scrub fire could turn much worse, Westport fire chief Alan Kennedy said.
"It's drying out very rapidly. On the Coast, you don't need much fine weather. We've had a couple of scrub fires down at the beach already."
A fire at the Westport beach yesterday was called in by tourists about 8.30am but had possibly been lit the night before.
Luckily it was on the high water mark and not near the scrubby foreshore, where it would have been much worse.
Greymouth fire chief Lee Swinburn also noted the "drought" conditions, although luckily it had not manifested in fire calls yet locally.
However, the brigade was aware some people around the outskirts of Greymouth on tank water were beginning to run low.
Retired Moana fire chief and farmer Kevin Klempel said residents there were keeping a close watch on their supply.
"It's starting to run out," Mr Klempel said.
Changes to health regulations around potable water and the viability of a certified supplier on the West Coast meant it would be interesting to see how the authorities would cope with the pending need for residents to find safe water.
"There's a looming problem if this weather keeps up," Mr Klempel said.
Ikamatua fire chief Nick Pupich said conditions in the upper Grey Valley were now "very dry" with every irrigator inland from Moonlight now turned on.
"We've had nothing for pretty much three weeks I'd say, and I don't think there's anything on the horizon," Mr Pupich said.
"I think farmers will be getting pretty desperate, just with lack of growth."
Fire and Emergency NZ West Coast principal rural fire officer Atila de Oliveira said a restricted fire season from Friday meant residents would not be able to light a fire outside without a permit.
"At the moment it's getting a little dry and the conditions are going from low to moderate."
The permit regime had changed this year with the changeover from the district council rural fire office regime to the new Fire and Emergency New Zealand structure.
Mr de Oliveira said councils no longer handled fire permit applications but they could assist, refer and pass on applicants' details for those without internet access to the FENZ site for that.
People needed to visit the new website www.checkitsallright.co.nz to get all the relevant information and apply for a permit.
- By Brendon McMahon
