A Swimmable Charles River

Bathers on Esplanade in early 1900's

Swimming in the Charles River was a popular form of recreation until the mid 1950s, when growing awareness of river pollution caused the state’s park agency (the MDC at the time) to close the river’s public beaches, including Cambridge’s Magazine Beach and Gerry’s Landing. Historically the Charles was a dumping ground for all varieties of effluent waste and in 1955 had reached the point that Bernard DeVoto described it in Harpers as “foul and noisome, polluted by offal and industrious wastes, scummy with oil, unlikely to be mistaken for water”. In the 1960s environmental agencies and nonprofits began testing water quality and developing plans to improve the Charles, but until recently the river water was so harmful that rowers and sailors who fell in the water were advised to rush to a nearby hospital for a tetanus shot.

Goal of Swimmable Charles River

But things have changed. In 1965 the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) was founded and began work with several agencies to start the process of cleaning up the river. In 1995 John P. De Villars, then regional head of the Environmental Protection Agency, set the goal of achieving a swimmable and fishable Charles by 2005, and in 1996 Governor Bill Weld jumped into the Charles to promote the Clean Water Act.And the river has vastly improved, thanks to various public and private initiatives focused upon issues such as eliminating combined sewage outflow and storm water runoff. In 1995, the EPA rated its water quality as a “D”, while the most recent rating awarded to the Charles was its highest, a “B+”, and since 2005 the Charles has met swimming standards all but a few days a year below the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge, the exceptions being after large rainstorms.

There has already been a concerted effort by many groups and government agencies to prepare the Charles’ water for swimming, exemplified by a July 17, 2005 press event in which representatives from the Charles River Conservancy, the EPA, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), the CRWA, and M.I.T. jumped in the Charles to celebrate the milestone of swimmable, “not-so-dirty water”. Other recent events have also promoted swimming, including an invitational one-mile Masters swim organized by the Charles River Swimming Club. While concerns about an algal bloom forced the event to be cancelled, it is now rescheduled for July 21st 2007.

Swimmable Charles River Legislation

In the early 20th century, bathers gathered at Magazine Beach to enjoy the recreation afforded by a Charles River swim on a hot summer’s day.

A bill that will establish a commission to explore the possibilities of a swimmable Charles was refilled in January 2007 by Cambridge State Representative Alice C. Wolf. Rep. Wolf also endorses public/private partnerships to achieve this goal: “I am delighted to support the efforts of the Charles River Conservancy to make public swimming a reality”, says Wolf, “it would be a wonderful gift to the people to reinstate swimming (to the Charles)”.

Swim Coordinator

Ben Martens was hired in March of 2007 as the Swimmable Charles Coordinator for the CRC with a grant of $45,000 from the Boston Foundation. Ben graduated from Bowdoin College in 2006 and then worked for New Hampshire Governor John Lynch before joining the conservancy and its efforts to bring public swimming back to the Charles River. The grant from the Boston Foundation is an important step towards reaping the benefits of the hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars that have been spent in an effort to clean up the Charles River. This grant allows the Charles River Conservancy, with the help of many groups, government agencies, institutions, and individuals, to coordinate efforts towards making the return of swimming in the Charles River a reality.

Hiring a swim coordinator is an important step in this joint effort of tackling the remaining hurdles that face the goal of swimming in the Charles. Any swimming facility must effectively solve the problems posed by the toxic sediments that line the bottom of the Charles. Many solutions are being explored to deal with the sediment, including the use of floating docks, suspended pools, lagoons with filtered water, and spot dredging. Ben Martens is working to coordinate efforts with other organizations so as to effectively collect information about swimming in other urban rivers, research potential swimming sites along the Charles River, reach out to universities for collaboration on facility design, fundraise, organize educational events, and is serving as project director for all swimming-related efforts. If you would like more information about the Swimmable Charles Initiative please contact Ben at bdm@thecharles.org.

An American First

Floating boathouses like this one, built in 1898 and attached to the Old West Boston Bridge (currently the location of the Longfellow Bridge), might serve as a model for making swimming in the Charles once again a possibility.

There are currently no swimmable urban rivers in the United States, though many European cities offer their citizens the benefit of a relaxing and exhilarating swim beneath city lights. In this initiative, Boston can thus see itself as following in a great tradition and offer an “American First”, providing a beacon to the rest of our country. As John P. DeVillars says, “the benefits are substantial for greater Boston residents but success will also serve as a model for communities across America…Now the challenge is to build a coalition of public and private interests to achieve further water quality improvements, identify suitable locations for public swimming and identify and secure the resources necessary to make swimming in the River a reality”. Everything seems to be flowing in the right direction, and the Conservancy is confident that more resounding splashes will be made in the near future.

Master Swim Race makes history

On July 21, 2007, 68 master swimmers had the unique opportunity to participate in the first organized swimming event in the Charles in over 50 years. The Charles River Master Swim Race made history, riveting local and national attention and . . . [read more and see pictures of the race]

Second Annual Charles River Swim Race

On June 15, 2008, a new group of swimmers took the plunge. [See pictures of the race.]

Swimming Stories

The Charles River Conservancy is also looking to gather stories about swimming in the Charles River. Such stories are an important piece of our community’s fabric and vital to preserving our history and shaping our future. If you want to share a story please contact the CRC at crc@thecharles.org or visit our page for submitting stories about swimming in the Charles River.

Swimming in the Charles (in 2007) by Jia H. Jung

For the record, I was the first one in. I did it so fast that no photographic evidence remains in my plunge. I jumped in summer-camp-style—without thinking. I sank down, down, down into the Charles, towards a history of sediment. The water was the color and temperature of lukewarm Dunkin Donuts coffee. I resurfaced, bracing myself for the melting off of skin that was sure to occur. It never happened. Instead, I was enjoying the best view of both Boston and Cambridge . . . [more]

Oak Square in the 40s and 50s by Jim Lyons

On hot summer days, about six or seven of my friends and myself would decide to go swimming. We would walk down ... and pool our change to see if we had .25 or .30 cents to buy a box of 6 donuts. Powered sugar was our favorite and everyone got one or a half of one . . . [more]

River Baptism by Renata von Tscharner

I lived a block from the Charles River for twenty years . . . and wondered what it would feel like to walk down the street in my bathing suit with a towel wrapped around me and just step into the water . . . [ more ]

Recent media coverage

Loved that murky water: Dozens get kick out of Charles race, by Claire Cummings, The Boston Globe, July 22, 2007.

A Boston River Now (Mostly) Fit for Swimming, by Pam Belluck, The New York Times, July 21, 2007.

What dirty water? Racers set to swim Charles River, by Michael Levenson, The Boston Globe, May 24, 2007.

Swimming in Charles requires cooperation, by Paul Parravano, Co-Director of Government and Community Relations, M.I.T., in Cambridge Slant: Letters to the Editor, Cambridge Chronicle, February 1, 2007.

No more dirty water, by Jessica Scola. Cambridge Chronicle, January 25, 2007.

For muck's sake. Boston's Weekly Dig, January 24, 2007.

Help wanted: Visionary to get swimming back in mainstream. Boston Sunday Globe, Boston Neighborhoods, January 21, 2007.

'Swimmable Charles' campaign intensifies. Watertown TAB, January 19, 2007.

Swimming in the Charles moves forward—and back. Beacon Hill Times, January 16, 2007.

Read more articles about swimming in the Charles River.