Hosepipe ban lifted after 'monsoon levels' of rainfall
Fears of a long-term water shortage were washed away as Berkshire experienced two-and-a-half times the average rainfall in April, steady showers in May and further "monsoon-style" downpours so far in June with more forecast.
The ban will end tomorrow (Thursday).
Thames Water thanked its 8.8m customers for complying with the Temporary Use Ban, imposed on April 5 following the driest two-year period on record, which helped save more than 100 million litres a day during the hot spell in May.
The sustainability director for Thames Water, Richard Aylard, said: "In early April things looked very different than they do now. We had had the two driest years on record and we had no idea how long it was going to stay dry.
"While we prepared for worst, bringing in restrictions to save water to ensure there would be enough if the dry spell continued, the topsy-turvy British weather had other ideas.
"We are really pleased we can now lift the ban but, with groundwater levels still low and the possibility of a third successive dry winter, we still need to be careful. We don't need a ban, but we do need to ask everyone to keep on using water wisely.”
Although the record spring rain has enabled Thames Water to fill up its reservoirs, water levels in the natural storage basins deep underground remain low.
The company said the possibility of a third dry winter in a row this year was still a reality however, with droughts always a possibility as summer approaches.
As plants and trees grow and suck up much of the moisture, groundwater levels are not expected to recover fully until there is sustained winter rainfall that seeps deep into the ground.
Berkshire experienced the second wettest April since records began in 1910, with 136.6mm of rainfall, 272 per cent more than the average rainfall for April, according to the Met Office.
And provisional figures released by the Met Office for May show that Berkshire had 34.2mm of rainfall, which equates to 64 per cent of the long term May average.
The drought status has already been lifted in many areas of the UK, including most parts of Wiltshire, the Midlands and parts of Yorkshire.