MEDIA
ADVISORY Blue flags will be hoisted, though water quality conditions could change with approaching storm Boston, MA … The Charles River Basin, the world-class rowing race course for the 41st Head of the Charles Regatta, is likely to be safe for boating for at least part of the weekend for the hundreds of top national and international crew teams that will compete there. Recent water quality tests show the river safe for boating, but predicted rain of 0.50 - 1 inch could change river conditions. If significant rain does fall, boaters are advised to wash thoroughly after racing. The Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has been flying color-coded flags indicating water quality in the Basin daily since July of 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 combined sewer system overflows discharge pollutants into the river. "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 Bob Zimmerman, CRWA's Executive 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 based on the relationship of fecal coliform bacteria to previous rainfall conditions at Watertown Dam. 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 Newell Boathouse, Riverside Boat Club, Charles River Yacht Club, and the Union Boat Club on the Esplanade. 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. Boston University, Triumvirate Environmental Inc., Pfizer Corporation, Polaroid, and Harvard University are all members of the Clean Charles Coalition, who provided funding for the flags. Daily flagging results are posted on CRWA's website, www.charlesriver.org/water_quality/wq.html and CRWA's water quality hotline, 781-788-0007 x301. ### One of our country's first watershed organizations, CRWA formed in 1965 in response to public concern about the declining condition of the Charles River. This year, CRWA is celebrating 40 years of using science, advocacy and the law to protect, preserve and enhance the Charles River and its watershed. Since its earliest days of advocacy, CRWA has figured prominently in major clean-up and watershed protection efforts that have dramatically improved the health of the Charles.
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