Wastewater treatment and reuse – preventing pollution and conserving water in the textile industry April 19, 2021, 8:07 PM IST Introduction: The textile industry is one of the major industrial sectors in India, contributing significantly to revenue and employment generation. At the same time, it causes severe environmental impacts by generating highly toxic wastewater during wet processing of fabrics at dye houses. This wastewater usually contains high concentration of dyes, salts, and host of other organic and inorganic compounds. If the wastewater is released untreated in the environment, it contaminates soil and water bodies in the vicinity, causing immense harm to plants, animals and as well as humans. There have been numerous reports in the media highlighting the level of pollution in rivers near textile clusters—in some cases entire stretches of river turn colours such as red or blue, owing to untreated dyes in the water. Numerous health ailments due to consumption of polluted water are reported across India every year.