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Boston Globe

A swimmable Charles River? It's possible.

It doesn't have to be this way. Greater Boston could finally have a Charles River safe enough for swimming if it makes the necessary investments, as Portland did. Advertisement The city takes pride in the tremendous progress it has made toward a cleaner Boston Harbor and cleaner Charles River since the Standells sang about loving that 'Dirty Water' in 1966. Since the 1980s, thanks to the construction of the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment plant and billions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades, the amount of sewage going into the Charles has been markedly reduced. But the job is not done. There are still after every heavy rainstorm, thanks to the 19th-century infrastructure of 'combined' pipes carrying both household waste and rainwater. One potential solution to fixing the discharges is a massive underground tunnel below the Charles (up to 32 feet in diameter and four miles long) that would store sewage-laden storm water and then release it slowly to Deer Island, preventing the pipes and treatment plant from being overwhelmed and discharging sewage into the river. Advertisement This solution was proposed in January by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the cities of Cambridge and Somerville, with a preliminary estimated cost of $1.4 billion to $2.3 billion. While such a price tag may give some pause, the cleanup of the Boston Harbor cost more than twice that — $5 billion — and was clearly worth the investment. According to a Large storage tunnels are a common approach to addressing combined sewer overflows, or CSOs. Portland built a huge tunnel (called the ' 'The completion of this project ensures that the shores of Boston Harbor will be among the cleanest urban beaches in the country, enhancing recreational opportunities for city residents and visitors alike,' then-governor Deval Patrick If that could be done for Boston Harbor beaches, why not for Charles River beaches? In addition, the city has an opportunity to cut construction costs and bring beauty to our neighborhoods by pairing a tunnel project with installations of 'green infrastructure' such as rain gardens, vegetated ditches called bioswales, and new trees. Such projects enable storm water to infiltrate the ground rather than sending it into an already full combined sewer pipe. This reduces the size of the tunnel needed, reducing construction costs and bringing natural features into our urban spaces. Advertisement As we celebrate Earth Day, Boston should recommit to reopening the beaches that once lined the Charles — Magazine Beach, Havey Beach, Charlesbank Beach, Gerry's Landing Beach, and more — so that as we face ever hotter summers, residents will be able to cool off with a jump into the refreshing, clean water of the Charles River.