John Hays honored for promoting clean water

   Washington resident John Hays was recently recognized by the Iowa section of the American Waterworks Association for promoting clean drinking water around the world. Hays won the Fuller Award, the top honor the waterworks association grants at the state level, at the association?s awards ceremony in Coralville Wednesday.

    ?It was a big surprise,? said Hays. ?Winning this award is such an honor.?

    Hays was selected as the sole recipient of the award by a committee of past association chairs. He said that before his name was called, the presenter of the award read a short biography of the winner.

    ?Once they said that the winner was born in Long Island, New York, I knew it was me,? said Hays.

    Hays will receive the official plaque in June at the association?s national meeting in Chicago.    

    Hays grew up in Yarmouth and moved to Washington in 1982 to work at the water plant. Hays said that his life changed dramatically in 2004 following an assignment from the city council.

    ?At that time, chlorine levels were too low in Washington?s drinking water, and we were in violation of DNR and EPA standards,? said Hays. ?The council gave me the task of fixing the city?s water problems.?

    And so he did. Hays invented a device that not only fixed Washington?s water problems, but also those of millions of people around the world.

    In early December of 2004, Hays presented his invention to the council. The device converts salt water into chlorine without any waste. The chlorine is then used to clean the water by killing water-borne pathogens and parasites.

    Hays soon put his device to work at Washington?s water plant. Multiple businesses in Washington now use Hays?s device to clean their pools, and he said the fountain in the square would soon be treated with the same system.

    Hays went on to make a smaller, handheld chlorine generator that is used across the globe. Hays said that nearly 700 villages throughout the world use his chlorine generator and that it has affected the lives of millions of people.

    The handheld chlorine generator is powered by solar panels. Hays and his wife, Mary Jo, have traveled the world to promote the device. Hays said electricity is scarce in much of the third world.   

For the full story, see the Oct. 23 edition of The Washington Evening Journal