The Charles River: The Waters Fine

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According to the local bean town folks some of the many don’ts of Boston living is “Don’t ever wear a Harvard sweatshirt” or “Ask for directions to Cheers.” One of these Boston themed gags such as “Don't swim in the Charles, no matter WHAT Bill Weld tells you” is proving that the locals might be giving out uninformed advice this time around.

The Charles River, always known as “having a healthy reputation for its extreme filth,” has a new lease on life ever since former governor Bill Weld took the dive heard round the world fully clothed around the same time the EPA announced a “Clean Charles” ready for swimmers by Earth Day 2005. Reactions concerning the river’s quality since Welds famous 1996 plunge have ranged from skepticism to complete dismissal of the cleanup promises, proving only that indeed, he “loved that dirty water.”

It’s only been recently that these former skeptics whose gag reflexes were tested at Weld’s legendary swim have started to take notice of the improving river, making the comic proverb warning people of the Charles’s unpleasantness outdated and simply untrue.

The Charles River runs approx. 80 miles between Hopkinton and Boston Harbor, running through 23 towns and cities throughout the eastern part of the state while 35 towns and cities comprise its watershed according to the Charles River Water Association’s website. A watershed being the area that drains into a river, lake or harbor. The Charles is categorized into two sections of upper and lower Charles territories, the upper known for its industrial development while the lower is reputed by its abundant recreational usage.

“I love the river. I've never used the river for anything other than rowing and there’s no better place to row than the Charles,” said Candace Saunders, a Northeastern University sociology major and former member of the women’s crew team, “I don't think that the Charles is clean at all, but this is also just because of what I've heard. It's supposedly getting better. I could say that there are worse rivers though.”

The Charles River has experienced many stages of cleanup since 1995, displayed in an annual grading system based on fecal bacteria matter present in samples taken from the river by The Charles River Watershed Association and released by the regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency, who launched the ambitious Clean Charles Initiative for many doubtful Bostonians.

For two centuries bean town folks have known nothing other than the Charles cesspool, and many even take pride in its trademark filth, saying they “love that dirty water.

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