The Charles River in Massachusetts is the 2011 winner of the International Riverprize, considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious environmental awards. The designation, bestowed by the International River Foundation, is awarded for visionary and sustainable excellence in river management. River projects from over 20 countries competed for this year’s award. One of the key partners in the effort to restore the Charles River to ecological health, the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA), accepted the Riverprize award on 27 September at the 14th International River Symposium in Brisbane, Australia.
Begun in 1995, the effort to make the Charles River both “fishable” and “swimmable” as key measures for ecological health has thus far been a 17-year effort with significant contributions from the US EPA, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Cities of Boston and Cambridge, the Massachusetts Water Resources Agency (MWRA), and the CRWA.
“This international recognition for the sustained accomplishments of our many partners speaks to a unique and excellent partnership,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office, in a prepared statement. “The work to clean the Charles River spans nearly two decades, and has won the support of elected and appointed officials from both political parties, three generations of EPA leadership and scores of unheralded professionals who have applied their brainpower and energy to finding solutions to the pollution problems which once plagued the Charles. We still have more work to do to ensure the Charles is a great resource for Bostonians, but we can all be proud of the work we have done.”
The Clean Charles initiative was an initiative of former EPA New England Regional Administrator John P. DeVillars, who led EPA’s Region 1 office from 1994-2000. "The Clean Charles Initiative is a textbook model for effective collaboration between EPA, other Federal and state agencies, NGOs, and the private sector,” said DeVillars in a response to the award. “The results speak for themselves - a river whose polluted state was once the topic of popular song -"Love that Dirty Water" - is now a swimmable urban oasis. Hats off to all involved!!"
The efforts to improve water quality in the lower Charles River reflect the coordinated efforts by government and local groups to identify sources and reduce bacteria levels, in turn making water quality safe for boaters and increasingly for swimmers. Despite remarkable progress reducing bacteria levels, there continues to be heightened concern about elevated levels of nutrients, especially phosphorus, in the Charles River. Both EPA and MassDEP are engaged in efforts to limit the discharge of phosphorus into the River.
The Charles has improved dramatically since the launch of EPA’s Charles River Initiative in 1995, when the river met boating standards only 39 percent of the time and swimming standards just 19 percent of the time. In 2010 (the most recent year where season-long water quality data are available), the Charles met boating standards 86 percent of the time, and swimming standards 66 percent of the time, according to data collected by the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) between Watertown Dam and Boston Harbor. The swimming percentage is the highest recorded since the EPA began grading the river in 1995.
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