Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders said the funding would be used to access water from remnant storage at Burrendong Dam.

"It will extend water availability in the Macquarie River to Dubbo for an extra four months, which will make a massive difference downstream of Burrendong, and support major tourism attractions like Taronga Western Plains Zoo," he said.

Zoo director Steve Hinks said measures had already been put in place to ensure the zoo had enough water for the care of the animals, to fill the moats of the enclosures and to grow the browse to feed the animals.

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For the last 18 months, the zoo has cut its non-essential water usage by more than 75 per cent.

"The first things to go unfortunately are a lot of our lawns. Like so many people who live in a lot of these areas we don't irrigate the lawns any longer," Mr Hinks said.

"You will notice the lawns are a little browner than normal but we're doing that deliberately so we have water to use where it's absolutely necessary."

The zoo is also utilising computer systems for smarter watering practices and is in the final stages of design for a major project that would recirculate water throughout different parts of the zoo.

The organisation is also preparing for the worse case scenario.

"As the situation worsens we may look to move our animals to our sister zoo in Sydney, depending on the suitability of the species. We also might be looking at options where we truck water in or buy allocations from other organisations," Mr Hinks said.

"We're a long way off any of those situations but we're certainly planning to look after our animals in the best way possible and to keep them all on display for the public as long as possible."

Even after the drought has broken the zoo will continue to use monitor its water usage.

"The lessons of the past tell us that if we focus on water only during drought than we leave ourselves unprepared for the next once," Mr Hinks said.

"We know that droughts are cyclical. Once we get through this one another one follows. Who knows exactly when but it is inevitable. That's why it's so important for us to make plans, not just for the short term but also the long term."

Water NSW has confirmed around 21 gigalitres of water can be accessed by pumping out the remnant storage and planning is already underway for the pumping to start. It includes an upgrade of the power supply.

The work is expected to be finished by February.