South Africa’s University of Cape Town (UCT) has broken ground on an innovative, multi-use water sustainability project.

Situated on the university’s lower campus, next to the Kopana residence, the new Green Precinct and water treatment facility is a response to the 2017/2018 drought, when the city’s dams and reservoirs almost ran dry.

‘This project has been years in the making,’ said Manfred Braune, UCT’s director of environmental sustainability. ‘We began planning more than five years ago after the drought reminded us just how urgent water security is – not just for Cape Town, but for institutions like UCT that house and serve thousands of people.’

Funded by the Department of Higher Education, the water treatment plant will not only treat wastewater from the residences and academic buildings to be reused for toilet flushing, irrigation and maintaining sports fields, but will also serve  as ‘a living laboratory for water management research, teaching and innovation’ for UCT’s Future Water Institute, according to the university.

Plans for the broader Green Precinct include an interpretative centre and landscaped gardens where students and researchers can engage directly with ecological systems and sustainability technologies.

The university is seeking certification for the project from the Green Building Council South Africa, including a 4-Star Green Star rating and Net-Zero certifications for water, carbon and ecology.

The  treatment plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.

5 August 2025
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