Charles River Gets 'A-' For Water Quality, Report Shows

An “A-” is the highest grade the Environmental Protection Agency has given the Charles River since the start of the Clean Charles River Initiative in 1995. The river has never received a grade higher than a “B+.”

The EPA graded the river in a 2013 report based on bacterial sampling by the Charles River Watershed Association.

The 80-mile-long urban river runs from Hopkinton to Boston Harbor, and hundreds of thousands of people use it each year.

A clean Charles River means seeing more people enjoy the water and the various activities it offers without having to worry about its toxicity, said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office.

“We are extremely proud and gratified that our years of hard work to clean up the Charles River is showing positive results,” he said.

The cleaner the water, the greater the number of days the river is safe for boating and swimming, according to the EPA.

In 2013, the Charles River was safe for boating 96 percent of the time and for swimming 70 percent of the time. In 1995, those ratings were 39 and 19, respectively.

Groups like the Charles River Conservancy and Charles River Swimming Club are now able to host public swimming events along the river.

In a statement, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh commended those who helped clean up the river: the EPA, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, Boston Water and Sewer Commission, state and local officials, private environmental advocacy groups and local volunteers.

“The Commonwealth is proud of our progress toward meeting the challenge of improving urban water quality, and will continue to work for even better results,” said David W. Cash, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

The Boston Museum of Science is developing a Charles River Exhibit to make water quality information public for the 2015 boating and swimming season. The EPA will obtain the data from a deployed buoy, in the river outside of the museum, that will monitor water quality.

The Metropolitan Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has spent over $5 billion to improve the water quality of Boston Harbor, the Charles River and other resources, said Fred Laskey, executive director of the MWRA.

“In one generation, we have taken our urban rivers and harbor from among the dirtiest to among the cleanest,” Laskey said.

Due to MWRA’s investments, the EPA said the Charles River has reduced the volume of water discharged from the Cottage Farm combined sewer overflow treatment facility, causing a decrease of 1.7 billion gallons per year prior to 1988, to about 46 million gallons today.

The discharges are expected to decrease to 13 million gallons in the next few years, which would result in about a 99 percent decrease in combined sewer overflow discharges to the Lower Charles River since 1988, the EPA reported.

In 2013, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission eliminated illegal discharges to the storm drain system from the Charles River drainage basin and removed 2.7 million gallons of sewage. This action was in response to a citizen suit under the federal Clean Water Act against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.

“Across the country, the Charles serves as a model for the restoration of urban rivers,” said Bob Zimmerman, executive director of the CRWA.

Although the water quality has improved, Zimmerman said the Charles River still faces serious issues such as toxic algal blooms and the impacts of climate change. “However, if the success of this effort over the past 20 years is any indication, together we’ll resolve them as well,” he said.

Photo credit: charlesriverlink.org.

Picture is of Charles River in Dover.