A moratorium has been lifted, allowing Adelaide residents to drill new bores into the city's groundwater supplies.

A moratorium on drilling new bores has been lifted 13 years after it was put in place, originally in response to the Millennium Drought.

The State Government say permits will be available to drill water for stock and domestic purposes for areas no greater than 0.4 hectares.

Mike Fuller, general manager of water licensing at the Department for Environment and Water, says the moratorium came at a time of intense water restrictions.

“What we were seeing at the same time was a greater interest for people to drill bores to water their backyards and large gardens,” Mr Fuller told the ABC.

“Monitoring over time has shown those levels have replenished and there's now no longer a reason to have a moratorium in place.”

Experts have welcomed the move, but warned that groundwater is not inexhaustible, so care should be taken around garden watering times and volumes.

The use of groundwater remains banned in the suburbs of Edwardstown, Allenby Gardens, Glenelg East and Hendon, because of chemical contamination from factories and dry cleaners.