CONCORD — Advice and instructions on imposing limits and restrictions on water consumption may soon be on their way to city and town halls across the state.

A mild winter followed by a dry early spring have precipitated a potential public water shortage.

The state’s Drought Management Committee met Thursday to evaluate the potential problems caused by what is now an official drought. The federal government has declared most of New Hampshire to be in a “moderate” drought, while much of Coos county is considered to be only “moderately dry.

“This is the first time we were getting together for this drought; we essentially went through that data and brought everybody up to speed on where we are,” said Jim Gallagher, chief of the dam bureau for the state Department of Environmental Services.

A mild winter followed by an exceptionally dry March and April means less water flowing through streams to recharge public drinking water supplies. It also means a sharply elevated risk of serious brush or forest fires and potentially lower levels of water in recreational lakes and ponds.

Usually, April sees about 4 inches of rain in Concord. But so far this month, only about one-tenth of an inch of rain had fallen.

Other than the risk of more frequent and more ferocious wildfires, the situation is not yet critical. But drinking water supplies and other bodies of water are not filling up the way they should in spring. That means when water use hits its peak, the supply may be limited.

“The groundwater table typically gets recharged from the latter half of March through April,” said Brandon Kernen of the state Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau. “The levels look average now, but what you’ll see in the next couple of months is a dramatic decline in groundwater levels.”

Water levels are actually lowered in some of the state’s big lakes during the winter to prevent flooding in the winter. Then the water is allowed to rise for the recreational swimming and boating season. But with streams suffering from lack of rainfall, officials have been releasing water from dams to keep the streams from drying up.

“The water table is starting to decline right now, and it should be rising,” said Kernen.

As a precaution, local officials are being prepared to respond if voluntary conservation measures or mandatory water restrictions become necessary. The state is preparing “tool kits” featuring legal forms and public advisories to be used in the event outside water use has to be limited or curtailed.

“The strategy is to continue to watch the conditions,” Kernen said. “As we approach the warmer part of the year and people use water in a discretionary way, we’ll provide recommendations on how to reduce water use.”

In Lake Massabesic, which supplies water to Greater Manchester, the water level is about normal for this time of year. But Thomas Bowen, director of the Manchester Water Works, said snow melt, which is usually still flowing down from the north, has trickled off.

“We’re not going to get the recharge that we might normally get,” Bowen said.

The water works serves 160,000 homes and businesses in Manchester and parts of Auburn, Bedford, Derry, Goffstown, Hooksett and Londonderry.

Manchester is also seeing signs that the annual late spring spike in water demand may come earlier this year.

“A lot of customers that have irrigation meters take them out for the season in late October or November,” Bowen said. “This year, there is a rush to get them in April, as opposed to waiting until mid-to late May.”

If water users and the weather don’t cooperate to reduce the pressure on the water supply, increasingly stringent measures will be taken to limit water use. The measures will range from voluntary conservation up to a ban on outside water use.

The federal drought declaration means cities and towns have discretion to implement limitations. In Manchester, the Board of Water Commissioners has the power to order voluntary limits or mandatory restrictions.

The last serious drought period in the state, in 2001-2003, prompted several measures to head off future crises. Some water systems were interconnected so they can share water during a crisis. Water pumping stations are now audited, and if more than 15 percent of the water pumped doesn’t show up on water bills, the supplier is required to implement leak detection and repair strategies.

Ultimately, through, a problem caused by nature will have to be solved by nature.

“We can’t make it rain, and that’s the only thing that is going to add to the stream flows,” Gallagher said.