The Far North District Council is warning an emergency could be declared within a week, as the drought becomes more widespread.
Water restrictions are being extended to new areas of the Far North including Kawakawa and Moerewa.
The Northland Regional Council is restricting the amount of water that can be taken from the Awanui River.
Spokesman for the Far North District Council, Alison Lees, says the situation is desperate.
“While we think we’ve got about 14 days [water]supply left, we would have to make arrangements a long time before that,” she says.
The council is already considering trucking water in to the district and has warned that the area is tinder dry and fires are a high risk.
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