Charles River Gets B+ for Water Quality

Students looking for an alternative to Blodgett Pool this spring can head over to the Charles River, now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave the historic river a “B+” rating in a recent press release concerning water quality monitoring.

The report’s findings, which deem the Charles safe for swimming and boating, is a direct result of the Clean Charles Initiative, a program enacted in 1995 after the EPA gave the Charles a “D” rating.

The “B+” rating may help dispel rumors that peg the Charles as an unsanitary source of water for recreation, to the relief of students who often use the river for co-curricular activities.

“It makes the whole experience a lot more pleasurable if the water’s nice and [clean],” said heavyweight rower Anthony P. Locke ’11. “We end up jumping in a lot of the time and it’s nice to know the river is actually clean despite all the rumors that have circulated.”

According to the press release, the agency’s grading system is based on the number of days that the Charles River has met Massachusetts boating and swimming standards, which is determined by bacterial levels.

Currently, the main concern with the river is that it may have too many nutrients such as phosphorus, which is a far cry from the issues the river faced over a decade ago.

The Charles has been a key resource to Harvard’s outdoors community—hosting boat races including the Head of the Charles Regatta, and the annual Polar Bear Swim, an annual event in which Alaska Klub members jump into the river despite Cambridge’s freezing winter temperatures.

News of a healthy and environmentally friendly water resource may increase the river’s recreational uses as Cambridge slowly edges into the summer months.

“I think there’s a pretty good chance I’ll make my way down there [again] now that we know it’s safe,” said Matthew L. Sundquist ’09, who has jumped in the river on three separate occasions. “It’s a nice river and we have a lot of access to it. It’s good to know it’s being taken care of.”