Crops in the Tasman region are struggling with the region now in early drought and the driest region in New Zealand.
The Waimea Plains has been left parched as persistent winds and high temperatures drain much-needed moisture from the soil.
"The small, leafy [vegetables] - your lettuces, your spinaches and silverbeet - they're struggling. They're struggling," Mark Connor of Appleby Fresh said.
But the wait for water is only lengthening in the Tasman, and river water levels are getting low.
"Across the region, we're getting to the serious stage. All the rivers are what we call below mean annual low flow, so that's getting low," Tasman District Council's Dennis Bush-King said.
Marlborough District Council has also advised irrigators to monitor their usage and river levels closely.
The Rai River fell below its minimum flow level on Sunday, ceasing all 18 consented water takes.
Most other rivers in the district are dropping and may also become unavailable, including the Wairua River, affecting 39 consents.
Two weeks ago, the Nelson-Richmond area saw around four millimetres of rainfall, but it was dry leading up to that, and NIWA says the next seven to 10 days is expected to be dry overall.
Up in the hills, hikers have been advised to carry plenty of water, with tanks running dry along popular local trails at a number of huts and campsites.
Tasman Council-owned forests and popular Nelson tracks are now off-limits.
As the water recedes, the water restrictions are increasing, and parts of the region may soon have to cut their water consumption in half.
"Could be as early as next week, and that's when it really starts to bite and hurt," Mr Bush-King said.
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