West Virginia Governor Urges Virginia Counties to Secede

[smirkymonkey]

35. The Charles River used to be very polluted but starting back in

the 60's efforts were started to clean up the river with the formation of the Charles River Watershed Association.

"In 1995, the United States Environmental Protection Agency declared a goal of making the river swimmable by 2005. In 1996, Governor William Weld plunged, fully clothed, into the river to prove his commitment to cleaning up the river. On November 12, 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the Charles River's entire length, in an effort to raise public awareness of the river's environmental health. In July 2007, the river hosted the Charles River Masters Swim Race, the first sanctioned race in the Charles in over five decades.

A combination of public and private initiatives helped drastically lower levels of pollutants by focusing on eliminating combined sewer overflows and storm water runoff. Since Weld's stunt, the river's condition has improved dramatically, although it was not deemed entirely swimmable by 2005."

I live less than a block away from the river and it's quite lovely, although I'm not sure I would swim in it. However there is no smell or visible pollution. The Esplanade is a beautiful park that runs along the south bank of the river where people run, bike, picnic and where the Boston Pops play on the 4th of July.