RESIDENTS are being urged to continue managing their water consumption despite recent heavy rainfall.

The Tweed saw heavy rainfall during the week, including 182mm recorded at Dungay, 145mm at Murwillumbah and 50mm at Kingscliff, while the strong swell forced some beaches to close.

But Tweed Council's water and wastewater manager Anthony Burnham said while the Clarrie Hall Dam was at 97% capacity on Thursday, it was an ongoing concern that water might become scarce.

"Last week it looked like the dry weather would continue so we reminded the community of the need to conserve water as a daily habit,” he said.

"Without this week's rain, we would have been looking at the need for water restrictions early next year.”

Mr Burnham is urging residents to cap their water usage at 160 litres per day, the equivalent of 16 buckets of water. Water meters were first introduced in the Tweed in 1965-1967, allowing residents to understand how much water they use. Council records show water consumption hit a high of 260 litres per person per day in 2002,” he said.

"Tweed residents have used an average of 171 litres per person per day over the past three months, so we are reminding everyone about using water wisely so we can try to meet our long-term target of 160 litres per person per day,” he said.

"The 160 litres per person per day target is a long-term target aimed at getting the most from our water supply for as long as possible into the future.”