Despite rain falling continuously in the Eastern Bay at the weekend, a water restriction remains in force for Whakatane and Ohope.

The restriction came into force a week ago and sees hose and sprinkler usage restricted to two hours in the early morning and evening on every second day for all consumers.

Whakatane District Council infrastructure general manager Tom Krawczyk says the restriction is to allow district water supplies to build back up to a safe level for continuous use.

He says after much deliberation and monitoring of the Whakatane River in the last few days, he and his team have decided to leave the restriction in place.

Tom expects the restriction to remain in force until Easter, with heavy rain on the forecast for that weekend.