WATER QUALITY WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR REGATTA ROWERS

Head of the Charles Course Tested by Charles River Watershed Association

Boston, MA … The Charles River Basin, the world-class rowing racecourse for the Head of the Charles, is likely to be safe for boating for the hundreds of top national and international crew teams that will compete there this weekend.  The Charles River Watershed Association, which has been testing the Basin regularly since July 1 for this year, says Basin water quality has met state standards for boating 89 percent of the time.

“Head of the Charles racers can look forward to competing in a river that is much safer than when the regatta began in the sixties,” said Kathy Baskin, CRWA’s project manager.  “These water quality improvements are the result of the work that national, state and local groups have done and continue to do to reduce combined sewer overflows and stormwater runoff, the main sources of pollution in the Basin.”

Regular water quality monitoring is part of CRWA’s daily pollution warning program for boaters in the heavily-used, 10-mile segment between Boston and Cambridge.  Fecal coliform levels have been tested three days a week for the past 18 weeks.  Results are reported back to eight boating facilities in the Basin where color-coded flags are hoisted.  Blue flags tell boaters that the river meets acceptable bacteria levels, as set by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.  Red flags signal that bacteria levels have reached unhealthy levels.

Red flags usually fly after heavy rainfall when stormdrains and sewer system overflows discharge pollutants into the river.  The Basin met state boating standards only 72 percent of the time after a large storm.  During dry weather, that figure rose to 95 percent.  Though some wet weather is predicted for Saturday afternoon, the volume of rain should not be enough to affect the water quality at the time of the race.

Funding for CRWA’s flagging program is granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Boston Water and Sewer Commission.  Volunteer assistance is provided by Charles River Canoe and Kayak, Community Rowing, Harvard University’s Weld Boathouse, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s H.W. Pierce Boathouse, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sailing Pavilion, Newton Yacht Club, Northeastern University’s Henderson Boathouse, Riverside Boat Club, and Union Boat Club.

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