WATER consumption by Ealing Council was cut by 33% in the first year of a five-year project.

The savings equate to around 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

It also means a £150,000 reduction to the council’s water bill for its buildings.

Ealing has also indirectly helped more than 60,000 people in Tanzania to access safe water, with a donation of the money saved going to the charity WaterAid.

The savings were achieved by introducing measures such as taps which turn off automatically, devices to reduce the amount of water used when flushing toilets and recycling rainwater.

Leader of Ealing Council, Julian Bell, said: “Our efforts have already saved enough to supply 1,350 British households with water for a year.”

Ealing is also supporting Thames Water’s scheme to offer households a range of free water-saving devices including showerheads, toilet displacement services, swivel taps and shower timers.

Go to www.thameswater.co.uk/freebies.