Meet new Chartered member: Chiranjeevi Sai Chaitanya Motireddy

Atkins group engineer Chiranjeevi Sai Chaitanya Motireddy MCIWEM C.WEM became a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager earlier this year.

Below we learn more about Motireddy's career, what CIWEM Chartership means to him and his advice to anyone considering applying.

Years of experience

Nine years in wastewater, water and storm water systems

Qualifications

BTech and MTech in civil engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras

What's your day to day job role?

Technically, I am involved with reducing the current and future wastewater network related risks for catchments in the UK and Ireland. I carry out assessments and provide feasible solutions with the help of hydraulic models.

Currently, I lead the Welsh Water Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans framework for Atkins' offshore design centre. My primary responsibilities include technical and quality assurance, supporting modellers, coordination with the UK project offices, project management and supporting invoicing by following the in-house management procedures.

I manage a team of 10 and am also responsible for their career development. I am actively engaged in recruitment for the team growth and provide classroom training to increase their competencies on modelling.

What inspired you towards a career in this sector?

I was born and brought up in a small town, Sullurpet which is located in Southern India. My hometown is the gateway to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s satellite launching centre and to India’s second largest brackish water lake, Pulicat.

During my childhood, I was inspired by the civil-construction activities for the development of the space research station. Because I grew up in a well-planned locality, I developed more affinity towards planning and building such localities/townships.

With these strong childhood ambitions, I secured a dual degree, Bachelor of Technology and Master of Technology in civil engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. IIT Madras has green cover of about 70 per cent of its total 250ha campus area and during my stay there, I became more environmentally conscious and developed an interest in water and environmental subjects.

From the campus placements, I started my career as a trainee in an integrated business city where my role was to plan and design the water infrastructure. Later, I moved to my current role in resolving urban wastewater network related risks.

What is the most exciting part of your career?

I cherish every moment of my work. The most exciting part has been seeing the construction of sewers I designed integrated into the business city. This on-the-ground realisation of my work helped me better visualise and design systems more efficiently.

I'm always excited by technical discussions and initiated weekly knowledge-sharing sessions on project briefs, software and best practices in modelling within my workplace. Many of my colleagues have benefited from these sessions and I believe in the idea that developing higher skills can help to promote greater efficiency.

What is the greatest challenge the sector is facing?

Growth and climate change are having an increasing pressure on sewer networks, which will potentially lead to flooding and increased pollution. There is a lot being done to offset the damage, however creating awareness of a sustainable environment is another challenge that we face in the sector.

Why did you apply for Chartership and how will it support you in your career?

I take pride in being a member of CIWEM, an organisation that promotes sustainability at a global level. My Chartered membership gives me access to a wider professional group to build my network. This helps me to understand the industry on larger scale, which is in turn helping me to perform better in my role.

What advice would you give to someone considering starting out on the application process for Chartered member?

I would advise them to apply, the membership journey is going to improve their perception of the industry, allow them get a broader perspective and understand the environment better as a whole.

There is always some initial hurdles in the beginning, however by challenging themselves and finding a mentor to guide them along in the journey, they will find their way.

To learn more about all CIWEM membership grades, including chartership, visit our dedicated membership page.

The next application deadline for chartership is 03 February 2022. Here you can find the rest of our 2022 application deadlines.