Blue-green algae spoils swimming spots across New England. Photo: CLF
For me, a beautiful summer day means enjoying my sailing membership at Community Boating on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. But I lost out on an afternoon ride on the river a couple of times last summer. As I approached the boathouse, I consulted the Community Boating website to find that the toxicity levels in the Charles were dangerous for recreation. The Charles River Watershed Association’s helpful reporting kept me from the river those days.
After a big storm, stormwater and sewage sometimes overload our sewer system. This triggers a “combined sewer overflow,” which dumps industrial wastewater and untreated sewage into bodies of water – including the Charles. This can spark outbreaks of toxic blue-green algae.
Toxic blue-green algae (also known as cyanobacteria) are naturally occurring…