by Angela Mathew
Boston Globe
Daniel Langenthal was looking forward to participating in City Splash on July 12, the event that marks the one day each year when members of the public are invited to swim in the Charles River alongthe Esplanade in downtown Boston.
“There’s nothing like swimming in the river where you can see the Esplanade and MIT right in front of you,” Langenthal said.
But Langenthal and hundreds of others were soon disappointed. Organizers had to cancel the event after the city deemed the river unsafe due to high bacteria levels caused by heavy rains. The rain also led to the closure of some Greater Boston-area beaches.
It was the latest reminder that, each summer, dozens of beaches in Massachusetts close because of pollution from downpours that wash stormwater and sewage into swimming areas. This year, several new initiatives by advocacy groups and legislators are aiming to make the state’s water bodies more swimmable.