UCT actively works to prevent polluted water from entering the water system, including pollution caused by accidents or incidents at the university. UCT has a policy framework (sustainability strategy, water management plan) and operational procedures (OHSE hazard/chemical risk requirements, stormwater works, planned wastewater recycling) that together form a risk-management cascade: identify hazardous materials, require containment and MSDS, manage stormwater with SuDS/catchpit works, and treat/reuse wastewater on campus. UCT uses engineering (infrastructure), procedural (risk assessment, training) and programme (waste reduction and reuse) approaches to reduce the probability and impact of hazardous spills reaching local waterways.
- The Pathways to water resilient South African cities (PaWS) programme (2019 - 2025) (PAWS) programme, led by UCT’s Future Water, shows practical, repeatable processes that reduce pollution in urban runoff before it reaches receiving waters or aquifers:
(https://ign.ku.dk/english/paws/)
Nature-based treatment trains to cut pollutant loads. The project applies Water-Sensitive Urban Design/SuDS (e.g., swales, biofiltration cells, constructed wetlands) specifically to reduce pollutant loads in storm-runoff.
On-ground retrofits and devices. At the Mitchells Plain stormwater pond, the team installed litter traps, sandbag walls, created infiltration areas for MAR, and monitored performance - reporting improved stormwater quality.
Operationalisation & scaling tools. PAWS produced a GIS-based screening tool for site selection and a toolkit for transforming mono-functional ponds into blue-green infrastructure nodes - explicitly targeting water quality improvements.
Governance and maintenance processes. The project co-produces landscape management/maintenance plans with residents and the city, and runs a Community of Practice to institutionalise water-sensitive practices. - Marine pollution detection & monitoring technology (SMARTPOL consortium → industry partners)
UCT electrical-engineering researchers have been working in a multi-partner consortium to develop autonomous sensor networks, unmanned vessels and remote-sensing methods to detect and trace marine pollution (oil, debris) — technology explicitly designed to help authorities and industry identify pollution sources and enable rapid, targeted response that reduces ecological harm. The SMARTPOL project includes industrial partners (e.g., Sirena Marine Yachts, AquaBioTech Group) alongside academic partners and has piloted sensor/USV & satellite-data approaches for harbours and coastal waters. This project connects UCT engineering research directly with marine-industry actors to deliver practical pollution-monitoring tools. - Prevention of pollution caused by accidents or incidents at the university
Hazardous-materials controls and emergency preparedness — UCT runs OHSE training and emergency-preparedness modules (including online training rolled out in 2023), requires risk assessments for hazardous substances, and maintains waste-management and health-care risk waste procedures that align with national hazardous-waste and HCS regulations. These systems require units to keep MSDS, use appropriate containment, and follow specified disposal routes — all of which reduce the chance of spills entering storm drains and rivers.
UCT’s Standard Operating Procedure on Waste Disposal Management details the steps to be taken to maintain safety in regards to hazards, both liquid and solid, and to dispose of/ recycle these in accordance with safety guidelines.
UCT’s Standard Operating Procedures for Chemical Spills include containment, clean-up, decontamination of the hazardous chemicals, in addition to first aid and reporting protocols. Spill kits are provided to prevent spills from polluting other areas or waterways.
UCT’s Mercury Spill Clean-Up protocol likewise includes containment, decontamination, and hazardous waste disposal steps which confine the mercury spill to controlled and safe conditions. - Waste-to-resource and source-control projects — practical projects such as the 2024 sustainability pilot that converts organic campus waste into biogas/energy and recovers water show UCT actively reducing on-site waste streams and contamination risks (less organic waste, fewer uncontrolled disposals). Source-control reduces pollutant loads that could otherwise mobilise into waterways during heavy rainfall or accidental releases.