Hosepipe bans put in place by three of the UK's biggest water companies are to be lifted this week as the country edges towards the halfway mark of what forecasters have predicted will have been the wettest June on record.

Restrictions will be lifted on Thursday by Anglian Water, Southern Water and Thames Water, who provide services to more than 15 million customers between them.

The ending of the bans comes after the risk of a serious drought in England started to abate after wet weather in April and May.

Almost all reservoirs are now at least 75% full and river flows have returned to normal for the time of year, the Environment Agency said last week.

Pre-empting announcements by the water companies, the Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, said: "We've always been clear that temporary restrictions should only be in place for as long as necessary."

South East Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Veolia Water Central and Veolia Water Southeast confirmed last week that their hosepipe bans would remain in place. The companies say their supplies are heavily dependent on ground water resources, which remain significantly or even severely depleted.

Groundwater levels are still below normal, with some areas needing 140% of long-term rainfall this winter to recover fully and rising demands on water resources are still also putting increasing strain on the UK's water supply.

The Institution of Civil Engineers has been calling on ministers to introduce compulsory water meters with differential pricing. This would mean that everyone could have a certain amount of water provided cheaply, but would have to pay much more for anything above that amount