Textile manufacturing is a multi-stage operation process that produces significant amounts of highly toxic wastewater. Given the size of the global textile market and its environmental impact, the development of effective, economical, and easy-to handle alternative treatment technologies for textile wastewater is of significant interest. Based on the analysis of peer-reviewed publications over the last two decades, this paper provides a comprehensive review of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) on textile wastewater treatment, including their performances, mechanisms, advantages, disadvantages, influencing factors, and electrical energy per order (E_EO) requirements. Fenton-based AOPs show the lowest median E_EO value of 0.98 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹, followed by photochemical (3.20 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹), ozonation (3.34 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹), electrochemical (29.5 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹), photocatalysis (91 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹), and ultrasound (971.45 kWh m⁻³ order⁻¹). The Fenton process can treat textile effluent at the lowest possible cost due to the minimal energy input and low reagent cost, while Ultrasound-based AOPs show the lowest electrical efficiency due to the high energy consumption. Further, to explore the applicability of these methods, available results from a full-scale implementation of the enhanced Fenton technology at a textile mill wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) are discussed. The WWTP operates at an estimated cost of CNY ¥1.62 m⁻³ (USD $0.23 m⁻³) with effluent meeting the China Grade I-A pollutant discharge standard for municipal WWTPs, indicating that the enhanced Fenton technology is efficient and cost-effective in industrial treatment for textile effluent.

Degradation of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide is a primary cause of increasing water insecurity, raising the need for integrated solutions to freshwater management. While methods for characterizing the multi-faceted challenges of managing freshwater ecosystems abound, they tend to emphasize either social or ecological dimensions and fall short of being truly integrative. This paper suggests that management for sustainability of freshwater systems needs to consider the linkages between human water uses, freshwater ecosystems and governance. We present a conceptualization of freshwater resources as part of an integrated social-ecological system and propose a set of corresponding indicators to monitor freshwater ecosystem health and to highlight priorities for management. We demonstrate an application of this new framework -the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) - in the Dongjiang River Basin in southern China, where stakeholders are addressing multiple and conflicting freshwater demands. By combining empirical and modeled datasets with surveys to gauge stakeholders' preferences and elicit expert information about governance mechanisms, the FHI helps stakeholders understand the status of freshwater ecosystems in their basin, how ecosystems are being manipulated to enhance or decrease water-related services, and how well the existing water resource management regime is equipped to govern these dynamics over time. This framework helps to operationalize a truly integrated approach to water resource management by recognizing the interplay between governance, stakeholders, freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide.

Quantitative indicators are a common means of assessing the complex dimensions of a sustainable freshwater system, and framing scientific knowledge for policy and decision makers. There is an abundance of indicators in use, but considerable variation in terms of what is being measured and how indicators are applied, making it difficult for end-users to identify suitable assessment methods. We review 95 water-related indices and analyze them along their normative, procedural, and systemic dimensions to better understand how problems are being defined, highlight overlaps and differences, and identify the context(s) in which a particular index is useful. We also analyze the intended use, end-users, and geographic scale of application for each index. We find that risk assessment is the most common application (n = 25), with indices in this group typically focusing either on hazard identification (biophysical assessments) or vulnerability of human populations. Indices that measure freshwater ecological health are not explicitly linking these indicators to ecosystem services, and in fact the concept of ecosystem services is rarely (n = 3) used for indicator selection. Resource managers are the most common group of intended end-users (n = 25), but while 28 indices involved consultation with potential end-users, 11 did not specify an intended use. We conclude that indices can be applied as solution-oriented tools, evaluating scenarios and identifying tradeoffs among services and beneficiaries, rather than only assessing and monitoring existing conditions. Finally, earlier engagement of end-users is recommended to help researchers find the right balance among indices’ salience, legitimacy, and credibility and thus improve their decision relevance.