CRWA's LEADERSHIP IN CLEANING UP THE CHARLES HELPS
MAKE CHARLES RIVER SWIM A REALITY

Thanks to decades of work dedicated to cleaning up the river, and good luck with the weather, the first Charles River Swim is scheduled to go ahead Saturday morning.  Officials at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Friday afternoon determined that the swim can go forward, based on the results of water quality sampling done by the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the US EPA and volunteer samplers.  Samples were tested for blue-green algae, algal toxins, and bacteria.  All of the results came in at levels well below the thresholds for safety established by the state Department of Public Health and DEP.

Founded in 1965 in response to public outcry about the declining condition of the Charles, CRWA has figured prominently in major clean-up and watershed protection efforts, and has played a major role in the multi-party efforts over the past 12 years to bring the Charles up to “swimmable” water quality.  Saturday’s swim is a reason to celebrate years of work – and millions of dollars of investment.

For a few days, it looked as if the swim might be called off for the as a bloom of potentially toxic blue-green algae began.  The blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, thrive in calm, warm water that is rich in nutrients, exactly the conditions early in the week in the Charles, where flow levels have been low and water temperatures rising.  Fortunately, some cloudy weather and light rains slowed down the blue-green algae growth and by Thursday afternoon’s testing, blue-green algae levels had dropped back well below the warning threshold.

“This really highlights the next big problem we have to tackle in cleaning up the Charles,” said Kate Bowditch, Director of Projects at CRWA.  “We’ve made tremendous progress in cleaning up bacteria and sewage in the river.  Now we have to tackle nutrients.”

Nutrients, particularly phosphorus, get into the river from many sources:  stormwater runoff from streets, buildings and parking lots, wastewater treatment plant discharges, and even from the dense accumulations of sediments lying on the river bottom.  CRWA is working closely with federal and state officials to understand the causes of nutrient overloading to the river, and to develop solutions that will stop blue-green algae blooms.

CRWA has also been working closely with the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) to force state agencies and private companies to clean up their discharges. 

Last year, CRWA and CLF filed a lawsuit against the Mass Highway Department, demanding that polluted highway runoff be cleaned up, and challenged the Mirant Kendall power plant’s permit that would allow them to discharge more than 70 millions gallons a day of hot water directly into the Charles River.

So while conditions look good for tomorrow’s swim, the blue-green algae bloom may be back next week or next month.  "As water quality in the Charles River Basin improves each year, we gain confidence that it can be restored to the point where it is consistently safe for recreation," said CRWA Executive Director Bob Zimmerman. "Until then, CRWA will continue seeking solutions to the problems that threaten the health of the river.”