Nearly 700 youth splash in harbor to celebrate cleaner water off South Boston
There was quite a splash at the M Street Beach in South Boston today when nearly 700 city youths dashed into Boston Harbor to celebrate efforts to clean up the water.
“It was just about the perfect beach day,’’ said Bruce Berman Jr., spokesman for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay.
The group is a non-profit environmental advocacy group that aims to restore and protect Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay.
Save the Harbor offers free youth programs throughout the summer. This season, the group brought more than 5,000 kids to the Boston Harbor Islands.
“It’s a great end-of-camp celebration for them,’’ Berman said. “But before, we never would have thought about hosting an event like this on these beaches.’’
In the past, Boston Harbor was infamous for its pollution. But a multibillion-dollar program has cleaned it up.
Still, until the past few years, during even small summer storms, untreated sewage was being discharged into the waters off South Boston because underground pipes carrying both sewage and rainwater combined were overwhelmed — and the overflow was directed into the harbor.
The South Boston Combined Sewer Overflow tunnel, opened in 2011, now holds that dirty water until it can be pumped to Deer Island, where it is treated and sent into another tunnel for discharge 9 miles offshore.
“It was a win for the environment. It was a win for the public. And it was a win for the rate-payers,’’ said the 57-year-old Berman, who teaches marine science and management at Boston University. From April to November, Berman moves from Brighton to live on a boat in Charlestown.
He said he was delighted that the combined sewer overflow tunnel project is working. Staff test the water daily, and in the past two years, of more than 500 tests, only four came back high.
“They’re among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation,’’ Berman said. “We should be proud of that. It really is a remarkable accomplishment.’’
Eight beaches in nearby Quincy were closed today, but Berman attributed the issue to “local problems in local pipes.’’
“They’ve made a lot of investments, but they haven’t finished the job,’’ Berman said. “We’re going to help them do that.’’
He said the beach bash was to celebrate a great summer for the kids, but also to recognize a long struggle with water quality. Save the Harbor is in its 26th year of operation and employs a 30-person staff in the summer.
The event included traditional beach activities: flying kites, fishing, painting, building sand castles, playing sports, and singing songs, including the official Save the Harbor rap, Berman said. Braver kids also got the chance to reach into a lobster touch tank.
Save the Harbor is also hosting an event Sunday geared for adults, which will include a one-mile chip-timed competitive swim, Berman said. He expects as many as 100 swimmers to participate. The group tried to host the swim in 2002 but was forced to cancel because of bacteria levels.
“Even if we get a little rain, we’re still going to swim because it’ll be clean,’’ he said.
While the children at today’s event enjoyed hot dogs on the beach, Sunday’s swimmers will toast South Boston’s success with some ice-cold beer, Berman said.
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