West Hartford Resident Recognized for Contributions to State’s Drinking Water
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Connecticut Department of Public Health
May 6, 2013 Contact: William Gerrish
(860) 509-7270
Hartford – In celebration of Connecticut Drinking Water Week, the Department of Public Health (DPH) Drinking Water Section will award Wesley Winterbottom, a full-time faculty member at Gateway Community College, for his outstanding contributions to the health and safety of the state’s drinking water.
Wesley Winterbottom, of Gateway’s Water Management Program, will receive the Educational Public Health Drinking Water Merit Award for his superior contributions to educating personnel in the drinking water field. Mr. Winterbottom was instrumental in the approval of Gateway Community College’s Water Management Program through DPH, providing an important path of entry for drinking water professionals into certification and related drinking water careers.
Mr. Winterbottom will be honored at a ceremony at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on May 7th. He has been a faculty member at Gateway Community College for 19 years and is a resident of West Hartford.
DPH is also recognizing Robert J. Longo, the Superintendent of Bristol Water Department, with the Certified Operator Public Health Drinking Water Merit Award. Mr. Longo will be honored at a ceremony at the Bristol Water Department on May 8th.
In recognition of National Drinking Water Week, Governor Dannel P. Malloy has proclaimed May 5 through 11 Connecticut Drinking Water Week, encouraging residents to recognize drinking water as a precious public health resource and to help protect our source waters from pollution, to practice water conservation, and to become involved in regional and local drinking water issues.
The DPH Drinking Water Section is responsible for the administration of state and federal drinking water regulations and is dedicated to assuring the quality and adequacy of the state’s public drinking water sources. DPH provides technical assistance, education and regulatory enforcement to over 2,500 public drinking water systems, which provide drinking water to approximately 2.9 million Connecticut residents and visitors on a daily basis.
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