REGATTA ROWERS CAN EXPECT FAVORABLE WATER QUALITY FOR CHARLES

Blue flags flying along river race course indicate that river is safe for boating this weekend

Boston, MA … The Charles River Basin, the world-class rowing race course 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.  Despite heavy rains in Boston earlier this week, the combination of clear skies since and only a few light showers predicted for the weekend have made the outlook good for water quality at the race’s start time. 

The Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has been flying color-coded flags indicating water quality in the Basin daily since July for this year.  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 may have reached unhealthy levels.  Red flags usually fly after heavy rainfall when stormdrains and sewer system overflows discharge pollutants into the river.  Flags are hoisted at eight boathouses: Newton Yacht Club, Community Rowing Inc., Northeastern University’s Henderson Boathouse, Charles River Canoe and Kayak at Herter Park, Harvard University’s Weld Boathouse, Riverside Boat Club, MIT Sailing Pavilion, and the Union Boat Club on the Esplanade.  

“Head of the Charles competitors can look forward to racing on a stretch of the river that is far safer than when the regatta was first held in the sixties,” said Kathy Baskin, CRWA’s Project Director.  “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.”

CRWA determines the daily flag colors of the river's health based on the probability of the river exceeding the state’s secondary contact recreation standard (i.e. boating) for fecal coliform bacteria at various locations.  The models used to estimate water quality conditions in the Charles were developed around the relationship of fecal coliform bacteria to previous rainfall conditions at Watertown Dam. 

CRWA’s Flagging Program is conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, operators of the rainfall gauge at Watertown Dam, and is funded 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 Rowing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sailing Program and Environmental Health and Safety Office, Newton Yacht Club, Northeastern University’s Rowing, Riverside Boat Club, and Union Boat Club.

Daily flagging results are posted on CRWA’s website, www.charlesriver.org/wq/wq.html and CRWA’s water quality hotline, 781-788-0007 x301.

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