George C. Whipple Award For Outstanding Performance by a Drinking Water Quality Laboratory

1. George C. Whipple AwardFor Outstanding Performance by a Drinking Water Quality Laboratory Symposium Presented by: Stephen Peats Secretary, Lab Operations Committee

2. 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

3. 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 .

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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”

8. 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.