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Bostonians Take A Dip In 'That Dirty Water'

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Swimmers jump into the Charles River at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Swimmers jump into the Charles River at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Nearly 300 people cooled off on Tuesday by jumping into the Charles River near the Esplanade in Boston.

It's the fifth year that the Charles River Conservancy held "City Splash" — a day of state-sanctioned swimming in the river. The conservancy has been working to create a permanent floating dock on the river near North Point Park. The group still needs to raise money and receive approvals from federal, state and city agencies before it could make the plan a reality.

But one of the biggest hurdles — cleaning up the notoriously dirty river — has been overcome, conservancy spokesperson S.J. Port says.

In 1995, the Environmental Protection Agency said the Charles was safe enough for swimming just 19 percent of the time. In federal tests last year, it was found to be safe 55 percent of the time.

We caught up with some of the people who jumped in on Tuesday. (Hear what they had to say by clicking the red player button atop this post.)

Some jump, some make a slower entry into the Charles River at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Some jump, some make a slower entry into the Charles River at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A life guard watches over swimmers in the Charles River at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A life guard watches over swimmers in the Charles River at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Swimmers jump into the Charles for City Splash. (Kathleen Dubos for WBUR)
Swimmers jump into the Charles for City Splash. (Kathleen Dubos for WBUR)
Lucie McCormick takes a break from her run for a swim in the Charles. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Lucie McCormick takes a break from her run for a swim in the Charles. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A lonely pair of shoes and a sun visor on the dock await their owner, at City Splash. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

With additional reporting from the Associated Press

This segment aired on July 18, 2017.

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