Marvelous day on the Mystic in Somerville marred by mediocre marks

On May 19, 2010, in Latest News, by The News Staff

EPA gives Mystic C- for water quality

By Andrew Firestone

Sunday was a beautiful day for a paddle fest on the Mystic River but concerns about substandard water quality continue to flow.

Curt Spalding, recently appointed by President Barack Obama as the Environmental Protection Agency's New England administrator, said the Mystic River's water quality was given a C- grade.

The low grade was based on bacteria levels in the water.

According to an EPA report, the Mystic River meets boating standards 93 percent of the time, but swimming standards only 57 percent of the time. The grade has failed to rise for the last three years, since rising from a D in 2008.

"It is persistence that matters in restoring urban waters," said Spalding. "It's not going to be a day or a week, it's going to take years," he said.

EkOngKar Singh Kahlsa, the executive director of the MRWA, who also acted as MC for the day's paddle and running event, was less than pleased, but recognized the need for continued effort. "We want to get higher than a C-" he said.

The two races were held with support from local businesses. The 5K run was won by Todd Callaghan, of Somerville, who ran a monster 16:55 and Suzanne Andrews who ran 19:55.

Andrews raced alongside former Princeton teammate Sarah Brohne who placed second in the woman's category, and both attributed their success to the other.

"You're more relaxed racing with a teammate," said Andrews. "It was competitive in a sense, but it was beneficial, like we were feeding off each other," added Brohne.

The next event was a canoe-race, in which over 100 paddlers from all over New England participated in a 3, 9 and 12 mile loops. Francisco Urena of Lawrence, a former Marine found that his military-style mentality played perfectly into the trek. "Paddle as fast as you can on the way there, even faster on the way back," he said.

Frederick Laskey, Executive Director of the Mass Water Resources announced the $117 million storm water detention basin, which would help in separating pollutants such as sewage.

Mystic River Watershed Steering Committee member Karen Pelto also announced the renovation of a dam to unite the upper and lower Mystic lakes which would allow herring, eels and other marine life into the upper lake years after the dam had sealed off any circulation.