Dunedin City Council principal rural fire officer Graeme Still, of Dunedin, said in a statement the fire danger in the coastal areas of the city had eased, allowing the total fire ban in the city's north and south coast zones to be lifted.
The south coast zone included most of Dunedin's urban city centre, Outram and Brighton, while the north coast zone began about the Leith Valley saddle and included Waikouaiti.
Instead, a restricted fire season - allowing fires by permit only - covering the two areas would begin at 6am today, he said.
Permits suspended by the ban and which had not yet expired would become valid again.
The Strath Taieri still faced a "significant" fire risk and would continue to be subject to a total fire ban covering rural parts of the city and Middlemarch, he said.
Elsewhere, the Waikouaiti River flow was continuing to dwindle, meaning level two water restrictions would remain in place for residents in Waikouaiti, Merton, Karitane and Seacliff, council water operations team leader Gerard McCombie said.
A lack of rain meant the river's flow had dropped to 100 litres per second yesterday, much less than the 150 litres per second minimum flow below which the Otago Regional Council required water conservation.
Consumption was also down, helped by an end to the gardening and irrigation season and water restrictions, Mr McCombie said.
The restrictions prohibited the use of sprinklers, limiting residents to watering with hand-held hoses between 8pm and 8am.
