The first hosepipe ban of the summer that would have affected seven million people in England has been called off.
The temporary ban by United Utilities (UU) was due to start in the North West on Sunday to “safeguard essential supplies”.
But recent rainfall, cooler temperatures and a reduction in water usage have led to it being lifted.
UU has warned that it may still need to introduce a ban at a later stage if the dry weather continues.
Martin Padley thanked customers for conserving water and said the company did not “want to inconvenience customers unnecessarily at this time”.
“Our leakage teams are working 24 hours a day to find and repair as many leaks as possible and we have been moving water around our network,” he said.
“The long range forecast from the Met Office is one of relatively dry weather into the autumn, so future restrictions are still a possibility if more rain doesn’t arrive.”
Mr Padley urged customers to continue taking steps to save water in their homes and gardens.
Robert Light, from the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Consumers deserve great credit for the way they’ve responded to the call to use water wisely.”
Earlier this month UU, which supplies about 3.2 million properties, said it was moving water from Wales to boost depleted supplies across north-west England.
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