Transcript George C. Whipple Award For Outstanding Performance by a

George C. Whipple Award
For Outstanding Performance by
a Drinking Water Quality
Laboratory
Symposium
Presented by:
Stephen Peats
Secretary, Lab Operations Committee
George C. Whipple
Major Accomplishments that
still affect our water
treatment theories today:
•Published in First Edition of
Standard Methods
•“Municipal Water-Works
Laboratories,” Popular Science,
December 1900
•Observations on the Temperature
of Surface Waters; and the
Effect of Temperature on the Growth of Micro-Organisms,”
Journal of the New England Water Works Association, Volume
9, By New England Water Works Association, Read Feb. 13, 1895
The Chestnut Hill Reservoir Biological Laboratory
Built in 1889 this small
wooden frame building
had one room for general
biological work and
another that served as a
photographic dark room.
This was the first such
water biological lab in
the country .
Research by 1895
In 1889 George Whipple, a recent MIT
grad, is selected to work at the lab. He
works there for its first eight years and
becomes the biologist in charge.
By 1895, the Chestnut Hill laboratory
had been in operation for six years,
and George and the staff had made
more than 12,000 microscopic and
more than 6,000 bacterial
examinations of water samples.
George C. Whipple Scientific
Accomplishments
At the tiny photo laboratory at
the Chestnut Hill Pumping
Station, George Whipple
began his quest to learn
about the cleanliness of
drinking water. His famous
volume "Microscopy of
Drinking Water" was
published in 1899. On plate
#12, Professor Whipple
illustrates protozoa.
Award Goals
The purpose of the George C. Whipple Award is to
identify and acknowledge those drinking water
testing laboratories that have demonstrated an
exemplary dedication to providing services
consistent with the accomplishments of the above
named analyst that pioneered methods for the
protection of waterborne contamination and the
assurance of proper public health in his community
and beyond.
George C. Whipple Award Criteria
— Must be a Drinking Water testing Lab meeting current
certification requirements in the state they are performing the
tests.
— Must be involved in performing water quality testing and
analysis using methods approved by EPA and/or the state for
at least the previous two years.
— Organization itself or at least one member of it must be a
member in good standing with NEWWA.
— Must demonstrate a dedication to “provide outstanding
service to customers” by way of illustrating the use of ethical
and innovated methods in a manner consistent with the goal
“of emphasizing the protection of public health”
The Winner of the First George C. Whipple Award in 2013:
City of Newport, (R.I.) Department of Utilities Drinking
Water Laboratory!
Left to right: Vijay Jain, Committee Chair; Terri Sullivan, Lab
Manager; Helder Cabral, Microbiologist; Stephen Peats,
Committee Secretary; Mary D’Aoust, Committee Vice Chair.