River catchments in the vicinity of landfill site are highly vulnerable to leachaterncontamination and are exposed to increased risk due to storms and flooding driven byrnspecial weather conditions. The objective of this research, thus, was to better understandrnhow the new Sendafa Landfill which is located in the Akaki River catchment mightrninteract with extreme storm events and to investigate associated future risks. The studyrnevaluated potential release of liquid contaminants from the Landfill and examined arnbroad spectrum of potential conditions that may contribute to these releases. The firstrnstep was to investigate how surface water runoff from a storm event at the Landfillrncontributes to the risk of contaminant release from waste sites based on the source -rnpathway - receptor approach. Water balance model was used to quantify leachate flowrnthat would be released into the water resource system. Analyses were performed tornevaluate the exposure of Akaki catchment to contaminant. Finally, possible mitigationrnmeasures were proposed.rnThe result from the risk assessment confirmed that the risk associated with accidentalrnrelease of leachate from the landfill would lead to contamination of surface water bodiesrnin the vicinity. It was estimated that under 10 year, 100 year and 200 year return period 6rnhours duration rainfall, maximum leachate volume of 2160.6 m3day, 3039 m3day andrn3297.2 m3day will be generated from the landfill respectively, out of which leachaternflow of 824.6 m3/day, 1703 m3/day and 1961.2 m3/day will be above the capacity of thernleachate collection system for the respective storm events. This could potentially causerntransport of waste solution that may result in a severe pollution risk.rnTherefore it is recommended that further studies on the determination of risks and itsrnfuture implications based on a wide range of climatic, environmental and socioeconomicrnscenarios would give a broader picture of the issues involved and to be able tornaddress them for a better future environment.rnKey words: Landfill, surface water resources, risk analysis, extreme storm events,rnleachate, Water Balance Method