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All the rain forces cancellation of Charles River swim
By adamg on Sat, 06/20/2009 - 8:45am
It's not that the swimmers are afraid of getting wet, but that all the rain has meant lots of yucky runoff flowing into the river, and that means the Charles River Swimming Club has had to cancel the annual swim, scheduled for tomorrow, June 21. Race Director Ulla Hester says:
It was an unfortunate reminder of the fact that the river is not yet as clean as we would like it to be. There is no rain date, but the club is looking forward to next year's event.
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Comments
Cancellation sucks...
I swam the Charles River race last year, and it was great. Very tough swimming against the current. But, it's an amazing view from the water of Boston and Cambridge mid way through the course that very few people can say they have experienced. It also supports a great cause. I am disappointed that the race is had to be canceled, but we can't control the weather. I hope that maybe it will bring attention too how much pollution of the Charles still happens.
I seem to remember the swim
I seem to remember the swim to prove the Charles is clean was cancelled last year - due to poor water quality.
some people just don't get it
It was an unfortunate reminder of the fact that the river is not yet as clean as we would like it to be
I don't expect the average Joe to understand, but I do expect the organization trying to get the Charles "cleaned up" to:
It's a reminder that it is polluted runoff that pollutes the river. It's not some kind of mysterious magic that causes the river to become icky after rain hits it. All the oil from cars, nitrogen from lawns/farms (which causes algae blooms), and septic/sewer runoff...that's what pollutes MANY rivers after rain.
Stormwater run-off and combined sewer overflows ...
... are indeed the reason the Charles River does not meet swimming standards at all times. That does not negate our statement above. Significant clean-up efforts have taken place in recent years, such as the Stony Brook Sewer separation and others, which have had a positive effect on water quality: http://www.mwra.com/03sewer/html/sewcso.htm
There is still a lot of work to be done to reduce stormwater run-off and eliminate CSOs. More information about the clean-up efforts and the current state of the river can be found here: http://www.epa.gov/ne/charles/index.html
Incidentally spending on basic infrastructure has lagged behind in this country for years, but occasionally we see some good news: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/greenblog/20...
Folks, the race was canceled
Folks, the race was canceled because of a permitting restriction on rainfall, not because anyone knew for sure there was a problem with the river water.
Plenty of data is available
I'm sure the people who issued the permit had access to the years of data from the Charles and could reasonably deduce at which point the amount of rainfall would cause a problem with the river water.
The Charles is getting better, but isn't there yet. It's probably fine to swim in (if that's what you want to do) most days, but I doubt it was fine with the weather we've been having.