Householders urged to save water despite second wettest year on record The request risks angering customers who have already been hit with rising water bills. Thames Water, which was one of the firms that introduced restrictions last year, said: "While water use restrictions this year are highly unlikely, we would ask everyone to continue using water wisely, because we are never more than 18 months of very dry weather away from a drought." South East Water echoed this by saying "the need to use water wisely continues" while Anglian Water said that although its supplies were healthy, it would also encourage people to use water wisely. The Met Office said, however, that its long range three month forecast gave no indication that it was going to be a particularly dry summer and said there was just as much chance it could be a wet one. A spokesman said: "We have no concerns about water levels for the time being." Official figures from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology also showed that reservoir stocks in England and Wales are well above average despite a drier than normal February this year. Groundwater levels are "notably high" across much of the country. Similarly river flows are above their normal range in almost all of the areas hit by drought last year. Last year home owners faced fines of up to £1,000 for watering their gardens after the hosepipe bans were introduced, covering more than 20 million households. Seven water companies; Thames, Southern Water, South East Water, Anglian Water, Sutton and East Surrey, Veolia Central and Veolia South East brought in hosepipe bans. Academics calculated that at the start of April last year, England needed 15 inches of rainfall over the summer to replenish supplies after several unusually dry years. Shortly after the ban was introduced, storms brought heavy rainfall and flooding, meaning most of the restrictions were lifted by the summer. By the end of 2012, the UK had received more than 52 inches of rainfall in total, making it the second wettest year on record after 2000. Flooding affected parts of England and Wales one in every five days, costing several lives. Southern Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water and Affinity Water, which was created by a merger of the Veolia companies last October, said their water reserves were also healthy and they were not anticipating any problems this year. A spokesman for the Environment Agency said that despite rainfall over recent months, it remained necessary to conserve water wherever possible. She said: "There is always a need to be careful with water. Although levels are high just now, if people use water efficiently at time when there is plenty, it can help at times when there is not so much rain.