Water audit for twelve wet-processing textile factories

The assignment was carried out to conduct basic water audits at twelve textile factories with wet-processing operations, thereby identifying water-saving potential and proposing solutions for efficient water use. The participating factories are all large-scale with high production capacity.

Main Activities:

• Conduct on-site assessments at the workshops of the twelve selected factories;
• Collect data on water consumption and wastewater treatment, walk-through textile dyeing processes, and propose solutions to improve resource efficiency based on textile expertise and specific water consumption indicators of the factories.

Results Achieved:

• Identified water inefficiencies in twelve companies, most commonly consisting of leaks throughout the water supply system, inefficient and wasteful use in activities such as irrigation, equipment cooling, wastewater treatment, etc., as well as a failure to exploit alternative water sources.
• The key solutions proposed for the 12 businesses include: (i) strengthening system management and maintenance; (ii) controlling water usage; (iii) reusing water; (iv) rainwater harvesting; and (v) upgrading wastewater treatment systems.
• Estimated potential savings from these solutions include: a 60 – 83% reduction in water usage in certain activities, utilising 8,500 – 63,000 m³ of rainwater annually, and reusing over 40% of total consumption, leading to a significant reduction in water-related operating costs for the companies.