Visions of Swimming in the Charles River

By Renata von Tscharner

When I think of swimming I think of light, of being surrounded by glittering water. Swimming also brings weightlessness or at least the sensation of floating and partial suspension of gravity. Swimming is sensuous, the feeling of water flowing is exhilarating, even liberating. Swimming is invigorating and health giving; you must move to stay afloat or go forward.

Whether you are young or an adult, swimming refreshes and renews us. It can be experienced here in the heart of our metropolitan area. But I am not talking of chlorinated public pools or private clubs; I mean in the Charles River.

For countless numbers of millions, river swimming in urban areas is a part of daily life in good weather. Whether in the high reaches of the Rhine as it rushes through Basel in Switzerland, where swimmers bath directly in the river, or in the fresh water bathing barges of the Seine, in Paris, city dwellers enjoy the pleasures of river swimming.

On July 17, of this year (2005), swimmers will engage in close to 200 "support actions" in 30 rivers in 10 European countries. Even the Jordan River will be the scene of a joint Palestinian-Israeli event.

But not one toe will go into the water in the Charles, at least not now. It is simply not allowed, at least not yet.

In 1995, John de Villars, then the Regional Administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the Clean Charles 2005 campaign. A decade-long campaign was launched with the aim of a fishable and swimmable Charles River. He also introduced a yearly score card, so that as the public works progressed necessary to clean up the river progressed, it could be measured in the form of improved water quality.

Using a series of sophisticated water quality measuring devices and a daily flagging program, the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) joined in the effort.

The Charles is swimmable

Now a decade has passed and water quality monitoring has shown that indeed the Charles is swimmable. But what does that mean? Perhaps for a start we should begin to envision what it would be like to swim in the Charles once again, as so many did in years past.

Those with long memories may remember Magazine Beach in Cambridge (next to the Boston University Bridge) being a popular swimming spot until about 1955 when it became known that serious levels of pollution made swimming unsafe.

Unfortunately, it had indeed been unsafe to swim in Charles for decades before then. But now all this is changing.

As I try to think of natural advocates for swimming in the Charles, like Walk Boston speaks for walkers, or Mass Bike for bicyclists, I realize there are no advocates for river swimming, and for good reason. If for half a century swimming was simply not an option, what was there to advocate?

The absence of advocates probably accounts for the fact that when the steward of the Charles River and its Parklands, the State of Massachusetts' Department of Conservation and Recreation (formerly the MDC) engaged in a master planning process several years ago, there were no swimming advocates at the dozens of public meetings that proceeded the formal plan. Yet yachting, sailing and rowing clubs were strongly represented.

Now the time has arrived to build a constituency of enthusiastic swimmers.

Swimming - Swiss Style

When I arrived in Cambridge some 25 years ago from Switzerland and found myself living just two blocks from the river, my first instinct was to jump in and swim. But I was told I could not, that water quality was too poor to take the risk.

Now, thanks to the hard work of the Charles River Watershed Association and public agencies like the EPA, this pleasure is finally coming within reach.

What does swimming in the Swiss style mean? Many Swiss cities have grown up around rivers, including such streams as the Aare in Bern, the Rhine in Basel and the Limmat in Zurich, just to mention a few.

It is very low key; you simply put on your bathing suit and water shoes, take your waterproof floating bag (for your towel) and stroll down to the river. You might walk upstream for a while and then step in. Or it might mean going to a marked area for swimming along the shore or to a dock and designated area.

Other options might include an inlet lagoon or floating bathhouse (of which there were many along the Charles in an earlier age), or going to a pavilion, in any season, to enjoy a sauna or massage in combination with a swim.

Any of these options are possible on the Charles, but we must start by finding appropriate approaches and places on the river. Swimming in downtown rivers and lakes is a very democratic way of bringing pleasure and healthful exercise to everybody not just those who can afford a boat, or pool or trip to the ocean.

Just as walking keeps us all healthy, so do river and lake swimming contribute to our good health and well-being. And here's a thought: If we are successful in restoring swimming in the Charles, might our success not become and example for many other American cities.

Yes, there are issues that still must be overcome. After three hundred years of ill use, one cannot mitigate the results in a decade. Combined storm drains, toxic sediments and turbidity (brown, still water) must still be addressed, and these are serious challenges. But as the EPA's yearly report card and the CRWA's testing shows, we have come a long, long way.

Cleaning up the water alone is not enough. Having safe, enjoyable, easily accessible swimming places is now the goal. Swimming in the Charles should be an urban amenity that Boston and Cambridge can claim and share with its citizens and visitors. Swimming in the river should be part of civilized living - one more of the many amenities, along with our museums, orchestras and sports teams that truly make our metropolitan area "the Hub of the Universe!"

Now, can we sign you on as an advocate for swimming in the Charles?

The Charles River Conservancy, whose mission is the stewardship and renewal of the Parklands from the Harbor to the Watertown Dam, sees swimming as yet another aspect of make the Charles River Parklands more active and attractive, or regaining the use of a marvelous, yet long-neglected public amenity.

Working together with such partners as the CRWA, the Swiss House, river abutters, including the universities and hospitals, above all else with swimming advocates like you, this vision will one day soon become a reality.

Renata von Tscharner is the president of the Charles River Conservancy.