Ben Shields says there is "confusion out there like you wouldn't believe" about Dubbo Regional Council's water policy and drought response including water restrictions.
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The mayor made the admission last week after announcing he wanted the state government to provide millions of dollars for the removal and replacement of dead trees in the region when the drought breaks.
In mid-2019 the council received $30 million in drought funding from the government, earmarking $250,000 of it for "communications activities to educate the community".
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Asked by the Daily Liberal why people were confused, the council pointed to the rapid escalation of water restrictions which started at level two on June 1 last year followed by level three on October 1 and level four on November 1.
At its November meeting, the council also made significant changes to level four water restrictions based on feedback from the community and businesses.
"Ordinarily, councils spend a number of months on each level of restrictions, so residents can gradually understand what it means for them," a council spokesman said.
"However, we are currently experiencing an unprecedented drought, so councillors thought it would be fitting to introduce a higher level of restrictions sooner."
During the "Christmas holiday period", council's chief executive officer Michael McMahon wrote to residents in a "community mail-out" aimed at raising awareness of water restrictions.
Several Dubbo residents have since notified this newspaper of not having received his letter and a table of water restrictions.
In response, the council has advised anyone who missed out to call 6801 4000, visit www.dubbo.nsw.gov.au/droughthub or drop into its Dubbo or Wellington offices.
The council spokesman said it had also placed advertisements in local papers including the Daily Liberal and on radio.
Another wave of TV commercials would explain in more detail what residents "could or couldn't do" when watering lawns, he said.
The council says Burrendong Dam, sitting at 1.8 per cent capacity, should continue to release water until mid-2020 because of a planned bulk water transfer from Windamere Dam and pumping of remnant storage water.
It has reiterated use of only 2200 megalitres (ML) of its 3850ML annual entitlement of groundwater from the Upper Macquarie alluvial aquifer.
The council is spending most of the $30 million in its bid to boost groundwater supplies and build projects such as the $10.6 million cross-city pipeline which will initially bring effluent into the city to replace groundwater now used for irrigation.
