Swimmers in the Hudson River on May 23, 2009 for the Great Hudson River Swim (Photo courtesy of Watts/News on www.nydailynews.com)

Imagine a sweltering summer day in New York City.  Aside from staying inside your air-conditioned apartment, don't you wish you could head over to the West Side and jump into the Hudson for a nice, cool swim?  The answer is probably no.  Given the Hudson's history of pollution and overall poor water quality, it is difficult to imagine even taking a dip in the river.  On May 23, 2009, about 200 swimmers went where many New Yorkers have not gone before and probably cannot imagine ever going-for a swim in the Hudson River.  As part of the Great Hudson River Swim, these brave individuals swam a 1.3 mile race in the river.  (Click here to view the video "Hudson River Swimmers Take the Plunge" on NYDailyNews.com).

These swimmers were not the first, nor will they be the last to brave the waters of an often thought unswimmable river.  In July of 2004, Christopher Swain became the first person in history to swim the entire length-315 miles-of the Hudson River.  In the Poughkeepsie Journal, Swain recounts the story of his swim and the comments from his neighbors when he returned home to Vermont: "They earnestly wonder how I plan to spend my vastly shortened life, now that I've bathed in lead, pesticides and PCBs.  I explain that the level of PCBs in my blood didn't increase as a result of my Hudson swim, and that my liver functions remained normal throughout...but I worry that if I testify to the Hudson River's improved health, folks will think the battle for the Hudson is won."

Swain is absolutely correct.  The battle for the Hudson is certainly not won, and there is much more testing and cleanup to be done before the Hudson will be truly swimmable from Troy to the Battery.  This is where Riverkeeper comes in.  They have launched an ongoing "Swimmable River Campaign," in which they use a Water Quality Testing Program, as well as legal action and advocacy to address water quality policies, wastewater treatment systems, and public notices of water quality.  In their Swimmable River Report entitled "Swimmable River: Towards Better Water Quality Monitoring in the Hudson River Estuary," Riverkeeper outlines the problems and the steps toward a solution and final goal of a fully recreational river.  Though the water quality of the Hudson has gotten better since the passage of the Clean Water Act, there are still problems with the river, such as the pathogens released through combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows, which are typically activated by rain and storms.  Accordingly, one of Riverkeeper's long-term goals is to abolish raw sewage overflows.  They also hope that their Swimmable River Campaign will spark the dialogue of and increased action pertaining to an interest in recreating in and around the Hudson, as well as reaching the water standards that would allow New Yorkers to do so.

I encourage you to check out Riverkeeper's Sampling Data to see the water quality in your area.  Qualities are assigned on the basis of acceptable, possible risk, or unacceptable.  I am hopeful that with the help of Riverkeeper, other environmental organizations, and citizens alike, water quality along the Hudson will be deemed acceptable and people won't think twice about taking that refreshing summer swim in the near future.