Background

The Charles River Conservancy is dedicated to the stewardship, renewal, and enhancement of the urban parklands along the Charles River, for the enjoyment of all. Through its annual City Splash community swims, the Conservancy has introduced over 1000 people to swimming in the Charles.

Swimming in the Charles was once a favorite summer pastime for all ages. In the mid-1950’s, a growing awareness of the river’s pollution and the possible health risks it posed forced the closure of riverfront beaches along the Charles. The potential for public swimming in the Charles River exists today as a result of a number of federal and state initiatives, including the 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act and 50 years of hard work by our partners at the Charles River Watershed Association, a devoted advocate to water quality in the Charles.

In 2013, the EPA upgraded the Charles’ water quality grade to an A-, making it the healthiest urban river in the United States. That summer, the CRC began to hold its annual community swimming events, which demonstrated the sizable public interest in swimming in the Charles. With a partnership grant from Common Impact, a team of volunteer professionals from Stantec Engineering conducted a study for the Charles River Conservancy exploring the feasibility of a permanent swimming facility in the Charles River at North Point Park. In order to evaluate the feasibility of such a site, Stantec compiled a team of landscape architects, civil engineers, environmental scientists, and much more. Their work determined that given further study and due diligence, a permanent swimming area is feasible!

Your contribution will help complete further testing recommended by Stantec and get us one step closer to bringing swimming back to the Charles River. 

What We Need & What You Get

In their feasibility study for the Charles River Conservancy, the design and consulting firm Stantec recommended the following next steps:

1.  Conduct a bathymetric survey of the area (mapping the depths of the river).

2.  Conduct an engineering study to analyze level of turbidity (water cloudiness) and generate best practice solutions.

3.  Continue water quality testing throughout the process.

We are seeking funding for the administration of the aforementioned tests. Each test requires contracting a company or individual to conduct the actual test, and also requires time from Conservancy staff to oversee the administration of these tests and to interpret the results of tests so they can then be relayed to key stakeholders in the project.

Your donation to our IndieGoGo campaign will directly fund these tests. As you can see below, the cost of administering the three tests together is estimated to be $25,000.

Creating a permanent swimming location for the Charles River will be a long process with a seven-figure price tag. However, the tests that this campaign will help us conduct are key early steps that will bridge the gap between now and the completed project.

We consider the following to be our stretch goals if our initial goal of $25,000 is met:

Stretch Goal #1-$50,000- Begin preliminary design

Stretch Goal #2-$75,000- Environmental Permitting

Stretch Goal #3-$100,000- Exploration of Operational Models

Some of the exciting perks we’re able to offer include a swimming lesson with Olympic swimmer Erik Vendt (3 time Olympian and gold medalist), a tour of internationally renowned sculptor Nancy Schon’s studio (known for Make Way for Ducklings), a private swimming block at next year’s City Splash for you and 19 friends, stand-up paddleboard lessons for two, and much more! See the full list below, and note-- many of them are first come, first served. Donate early for your best chance of securing a perk! All perks will be fulfilled by the end of November.

The Charles River Conservancy is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code and is registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by U.S. law, less the fair market value of any perks received.

If we don’t reach our whole goal, your donations will be used to complete as many of the discrete funding needs listed above as possible. They will be prioritized based on the recommendations of Stantec’s feasibility study. 

The Impact

With each person who goes swimming in the Charles for the first time, the Conservancy creates a new steward of the river and its health. There’s no experience like swimming in a great urban river such as the Charles with views of Cambridge and Boston. Traditional pools just don’t compare to the open water surrounding you-- the feeling of unfiltered, natural water gently flowing around you.

With every dollar raised, we move closer to providing a home for river swimmers who will work to keep their beloved river clean and healthy for future generations. A person who has experienced swimming in the Charles is more likely to engage in stewardship of our natural resources as well as to continue to pursue healthy recreational opportunities with friends and family. 

Our Proven Track Record

From its founding, the CRC tenaciously pursued the creation of a world-class skatepark along the Charles, where urban youth and athletes could have a sanctioned place to pursue a sport they love. Much of the energy of CRC staff, for fundraising, government relations and project management, was consumed by the planning and construction of the skatepark in a perfect, but challenging, location: underneath the Zakim Bridge but on heavily toxic soil.  On November 14, 2015 with some 2000 people in attendance, the CRC proudly opened the state park system’s first skatepark—the first of its size in New England—and transferred the 40,000 square feet of skatepark to the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The large number of users and the videos and press generated by the skatepark now speak for themselves. 

Risks & Challenges

Despite the dramatic improvements to the water quality of the Charles over the last 40 years, there are still significant challenges to meet before the public can have a safe, permanent location to swim in the lower Charles River, including access constraints, sediment contamination, and increasing levels of phosphorous affecting the river’s health. It is clear that the main source of water pollution to the Charles River is stormwater runoff, or rainwater that falls on roads, buildings, parking lots, even lawns, and runs into local storm drain systems. Runoff picks up pollutants as it flows and, from storm drains, dumps into the Charles. After rainstorms, the river often fails to meet water quality standards. Nutrients, like phosphorus, are a major concern in the Charles River. Today, about twice as much phosphorus is getting into the river as there would be in a stable river system. Acting as fertilizer, phosphorus causes plants to grow prolifically, disrupting the river’s natural balance. Phosphorus feeds toxic cyanobacteria blooms (a.k.a. blue-green algae), impacting summer recreation in the Charles River.

Cities, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, private land owners, and individuals working together can address this problem. Effective stormwater management techniques also offer numerous co-benefits such as improved air quality, lower energy costs, and neighborhood beautification. Techniques known collectively as “green infrastructure” are systems that use plants and soil to collect, cool, clean, and infiltrate stormwater runoff. By incorporating green infrastructure into roadways, sidewalks, parking lots, parks, private homes, and commercial complexes we can significantly reduce pollution to the Charles River. Today, the Charles is clean enough for swimming roughly 60-70% of days out of the year; let’s work together to bring that up to 100%!  

We expect to work in close partnership with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) to address water quality issues. The CRWA is one of the country’s oldest watershed associations; founded in 1965, their tireless efforts have led to the Charles River’s transformation from the infamous “Dirty Water” popularized by The Standells to what the EPA named our nation's “cleanest urban river”! CRWA is dedicated to restoring the river to its pre-development, natural state with clean, free-flowing water and a healthy balanced ecosystem with vibrant native fish and bird populations, an end CRWA research science has shown can be achieved. 

Other challenges include the:

DCR - the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation owns the river and the land on either side. We plan to work in close partnership with them to make this facility a reality. Our experience with building the Lynch Family Skatepark on DCR land proves that we are able to do this.

Boston, Cambridge and the State Legislature - good relationships with both cities bordering the river, as well as the State House and Senate will be critical to getting the support needed to work with various government agencies on the project.

Permitting - the Conservancy received the necessary permits for a skatepark on a brownfield (contaminated industrial site) that was a land transfer parcel between agencies as mitigation for the Big Dig. A swim facility will need permits from such agencies as the Army Corps of Engineers and federal and state environmental agencies like the MA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the EPA.

Design - landscape architects and designers are represented on the Conservancy’s board and will be able to advise on the process of design solicitation in consultation with the DCR

Safety - we will work hand in hand with DCR and the American Red Cross to ensure that the facility meets all aquatic best practices, is safe to use and is suitable for training life guards.

Fundraising - we raised just under $5M for the Lynch Family Skatepark described above. Current projections have this facility at $3M. 

Throughout the process of building this facility, we will rely on our partnerships, including the Charles River Watershed Association, an expert in water quality issues, the Charles River Swimming Club, which hosts a one mile swim in the Charles each year, Community Boating, Inc, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of Public Health, and Northeastern University. Partnerships augment our capacity, beyond our small team.

Historically, we’ve successfully been able to tap pro bono services, particularly for legal advice and permitting, which we hope to continue here, in order to keep costs low. 

Other Ways You Can Help