Mr. Rajendra Bhattarai currently serves as the president of Clean Water Strategies where he continues to offer his expertise to communities for water quality improvement throughout the world.
Mr. Bhattarai received his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2976 and subsequently completed his master's degree in Environmental Health Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. He worked at the Texas Department of Water Resources from 1980 to 1984, and Austin Water of the City of Austin from 1984-2018. His work at the Austin Water led to dramatic improvements in Asitin's water quality and wastewater management and has been recognized globally.
He was a visiting professor of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur from 2019-2021. He served as the president of the Water Environment Association of Texas and of the Texas Association of Clean Water Agencies, and as a board member of the Water Environment Federation, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the Water Environment Research Foundation, where he also chaired the Research Council.
His exemplary professional achievement, stature, and contributions to the global water environment have been honored by numerous awards. He is the recipient of the George Bradley Gascoigne Medal and Arthur Sidney Bedell Award from the Water Environment Federation; the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Earnest F. Gloyna Pillars of the Profession Award, and the Winfield S. Mahlie Award from the Water Environment Association of Texas for "significant contributions to the art and science of wastewater treatment and water pollution control'; and the National Environmental Achievement Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. He is also a Distinguished Alumnus of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Texas at Austin, and a Fellow of the Water Environment Federation. He was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Kanpur in 2022.
