Portland Triathlon organizer Jeff Henderson has written a response to my blog last week about swimming a mile in the river with him. Basically he’s telling you it’s a good idea to do the triathlon, and even invites you to go along and try it. Drop him a line if you’re interested. Next swim is this Thursday night at 6pm.
In Which I Swim A Mile in Mr. Davis’s Wake
Like Mr. Davis, I like to do stupid shit occasionally. Unlike Mr. Davis, I consider swimming in the Willamette neither stupid nor shitty.
I’m the race director for the Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon. I gave Mr. Davis an orange swim cap last Thursday, one of dozens I handed out to swimmers looking to make themselves more visible in the lean ribbon of river between the Marquam and Morrison Bridges. Nearly every week I jump into its deep blue during summer months, sometimes with others, sometimes alone. Each jump is a calculated assessment of the dangers of the water in that section of the river during that time of year – in other words, in terms of premeditated rationality it’s about as far from “idiotic” as you can get.
Continues after the jump.
That same deliberation went into planning for the first edition of the triathlon, in 2007. Had I decided to poll 20 random Portlanders at the Saturday Market, or the Oregonian editorial board, planning would have stopped – no way is it safe to swim, they would have told me. But, much like you’re not going to take my word alone that you can safely swim the Willamette, I decided that anecdotal evidence wasn’t the best litmus for the triathlon. Maybe the scientists should have a say.
I asked Willamette Riverkeeper about the conditions in the river. And I asked the EPA. Turns out there are myriad kinds of pollution, and its impact on you differs dramatically depending on whether you’re a swimmer, a fish, or a fisherman, whether you’re at the headwaters, on the bottom near Swan Island, or floating past downtown at RiverPlace Marina.
I explained all of this to Mr. Davis as we made our way down the ramp to the docks below. I had hoped his later regurgitation would be more educational and less gastrointestinal.
The 10,000 acres of parks and natural areas within Portland could easily float within the Willamette River’s downtown stretch. Can you imagine the outcry if every Portland Park – Mt. Tabor, Peninsula, Waterfront, Sellwood – was too polluted to enter? I doubt most Portlanders would accept such a thing. But, sadly, years and years of irresponsible river use has left citizens with disgust for the Willamette’s present and not much hope for its future.
I’ve been swimming since I was 6 years old. The Willamette is my park, my playground, as it is for thousands of dragon boaters, kayakers, fishing skiffs, wave runners, and sailboats each year. Last Thursday Mr. Davis experienced one of the rare reverse currents, where the river flows upstream due to Pacific tides (yes, in Portland the Willamette’s an estuary). He was also, between panicked gasps and visions of Saint Peter, able to look up into the undercarriages of cars clattering across the Hawthorne’s steel deck on their way home – a view few get to see. And he lived to tell about it, despite entirely normal and understandable anxiety from being suspended in a blue abyss for the first time.
The Portland Triathlon is not unique in its freshwater challenges. The New York City Triathlon (with 2,500 participants) annually takes place in the Hudson River, and walking to the swim start includes a floating tour of condoms and dead dogs. In Washington DC, emergency legislation was passed in 2007 to lift the ban on swimming in the Potomac River for one day so The Nation’s Triathlon could be held – complete with participant Mayor Adrian Fenty. In contrast to these races, however, the Portland Triathlon has never been forced to cancel its swim segment due to elevated bacteria levels, and not a single person (out of hundreds of annual participants) has ever become sick because of it.
Like Washington DC and New York, Portland struggles with an inadequate sewage system and historically shameful stewardship of the river flowing past its doorstep; unlike many cities, however, a variety of groups, both public and private, are busy cleaning it up.
Though the Willamette is polluted in a variety of different ways (some of which, at certain times, make it unsuitable for swimming), I’d rather do something about it than boilerplate trite sound bites aimed at an underestimated public. City Hall is doing something about it through the Big Pipe Project and sustainable stormwater management. Willamette Riverkeeper is doing something about it by monitoring the river’s ecology and spearheading education. Even Mr. Davis is doing something about it by making us uncomfortable.
I want you to be able to join me for a swim on a summer’s evening. And I want you to give a damn when you’re told you can’t.
Thanks, Jeff. And good God, do I ever want to try that swim in the Hudson, now…
I’m convinced?
I have done these swims several times now, and participated in last years olympic event. You are right Mr.Davis, the Willamette is NOT for everyone. Some should stick to the safety of a pool with lifeguards standing by. The rest of us will be in the river, freestyling it, and feeling very much at home. We are not all “cut,” and this group of athletes is just about as welcoming and friendly as it gets. As a relative new-comer last year, I felt very comfortable and included into the fold. And as for Race Director Jeff? I have met him personally, albeit briefly, and his knowledge of everything triathlon is astounding. With him leading the way, I would swim anywhere.
-B
I like the way this guy writes.
P.S. And despite your first impressions, Mr.Davis, we gladly welcome you to come and try it out again. No hard feelings. ‘Cause that just how we roll.
Not a lot of science in that post, but my understanding is that the river has heavy metals and the like in it, not sewage, (at least, in the summer when it isn’t raining. Winter is a different story.) Yes, drinking heavy metals isn’t good for you, but no more so than breathing them or eating them. And compared to breathing the air in North Portland (did that this morning, and will do it again this evening,) or eating tuna, (did that 20 minutes ago,) the river isn’t dangerous.
That said, his main point: If you think it is, then you should do something about it! The squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that! The river is a huge part of our city, if we don’t think it is safe, then why haven’t we done anything about it.
Wow, that is a lot of words to not explain why the “myriad” forms of pollution in the river won’t cause health problems to swimmers. Verbose much, Henderson?
What we need to do is figure out a way to catch that mofo on fire like the Cuyahoga River. That’ll get this towns attention! Meet me on the Esplanade at 8 pm. I’ll be the one with the book of matches!
“He was also… able to look up into the undercarriages of cars clattering across the Hawthorne’s steel deck on their way home – a view few get to see.”
Bullshit. You can see that from Waterfront Park.
For the love of God Davis, shut it about your mile swim!! Do you only work out once a month? Have you not had a workout since you dog paddled around the Willamette?! I have given up thinking you are going to start reporting anything newsworthy but mix it up a bit will ya?
FYI you were waaaaay more interesting before all that forgiveness bullsh**t.
I’ve swam in the Willamette three times now, all associated with the Triathlon and the hard work that Jeff has done to raise awareness for how a city could be if we choose to take care of our resources. I’ve encountered zero debris, no smell, and no ill after effects. As for the view, a lot of people have a fear of open-water swimming, and it takes practice to get used to it. For me, I can only say you have to be there to really appreciate what the city looks like from that angle, and to have a crowd of supporters above cheering you on. Like any other activity or adventure, it’s not for everyone, but I’ve seen only smiles from the other people in the water.
Today is Ducknesday, but I wouldn’t expect to see Howard swimming in the Willamette.
Unfortunately, the Willamette got a nice dose of combined sewage outflow last night due to the rains.
Jeff is great and should definitely be given credit for promoting and raising awareness, but I wish he would have included some further details or evidence of the river’s swim-ability.
A simple search gave me the info about the 1st Portland Triathlon in 2007 – a toxic dump threatened the race that year.
http://www.willamette-riverkeeper.org/docu…
“A valve release at the Mt. Tabor Reservoir sent an estimated 2.4 million gallons of clean water through the city’s sewer system. This caused a 284,000-gallon sewer overflow near Ross Island which is just upstream from the event’s swim site. In most cases, it is safe for people to engage in activities that may involve swallowing water from the river 48 hours after such an occurrence, so the swim was still a go.”
I swam last week, and the river tasted/smelled like river – dark, foul, but, I didn’t encounter any floating pollution.
People should check out some interesting sites with real information:
http://www.willamette-riverkeeper.org/prog…
The caution is: E.coli levels can change extremely fast, especially in the middle of the summer after rain events. Low E.coli counts do not necessarily guarantee that it is safe to swim, just as high E.coli counts do not necessarily guarantee that it is unsafe. Since we only sample bi-monthly, our data does not reflect the exact conditions from day to day.
Come to think of it, ducks don’t swim, they paddle. My bad.
I participated in the swim portion of the Portland Triathlon yesterday as part of a relay team. I loved it, I’d absolutely do it again. I grew up in Portland, only hearing how disgusting the river is, but I didn’t notice it being any worse than any other body of water I’ve ever swam in. Open water swimming is hard and panic-inducing, until you get more comfortable. It’s too bad that one bad experience results in Matt writing a blog to call us all a bunch of idiots. Oh well, one less person in my way when I swim. The Portland Triathlon was a great event and I’ll happily do it again next year.
Last Thursday we encountered about 40 swimmers in the Willamette. Several of them were almost run over and killed while swimming are far out as 1/3 of the river. The swimmers didn’t have an escort or anyone above water to notify fast approaching boats of the danger in the water. There was one boat in particular (who wasn’t associated with the group) who took it upon himself to warn boats about the swimmers. He saved at least two of the swimmer lives by jumping up and down in his boat and shouting at approaching boats.
When we cautioned the swimmers on the dock about the conditions, they were oblivious. They only said that they’d never thought about a boat escort and didn’t know that boats could go 50+ mph on the river. It’s one thing if you want to endanger your life but I don’t want to be the person who accidently kills you because you didn’t think about what you’re doing.
By the way, we called both the 911 emergency and non-emergency numbers and didn’t get a response from the coast guard. About 30 minutes after our call we found the coast guard up river to let him know about the dangerous situation happening. The coast guard just shrugged his shoulders and admitted that they had almost run over the swimmers the week before but it wasn’t against the law… it was just stupid.