Today’s Managing Health Care Costs Number is 65%
OK – it’s not much about managing health care costs – but I swam my fourth Charles River swim earlier today.
When I arrived in Boston in 1977, there was debate about whether it was even sensible to invest in improving the esplanade along the Charles River. The river literally stank. Shopping carts and tires floated lazily by, and people joked that if you fell in you’d need to get immunized.
The biggest problem with the Charles wasn't trash – it was sewage. Just about every city and town along the river discharged raw sewage into the river, and the problem was exceptionally bad during rain storms when leaky storm sewers mixed rainwater with sewage, overwhelming treatment facilities.
Today was the seventh annual Charles River 1 mile race – it started in 2007 (and missed 2009 and 2010 because the water quality was meh.) At this point the EPA gives the Charles River a B+. The water quality is safe for boating 91% of the days each year, and it’s safe for swimming 65% of the days.
There has been one public swim (last Tuesday) in addition to the race; there is one remaining public swim in the Charles a week from today. Free registration is required. Details are here.
Availability of good public accommodations for exercise – like bike trails and gym equipment, and yes, even public swimming in rivers, is good for health and is necessary to address our obesity epidemic. Being sure that sewage isn’t flowing through the heart of our cities is an awfully good idea too.
Today I’m celebrating that the Charles River has come a long way since 1977.
