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The
Charles River in Maine flows 80 miles through the eastern part of the
state from Hopkinton to Boston Harbor. It is considered one of the crown
jewels New England's waterways. This iconic river is one of the busiest
recreational rivers in the United States, and the lower Charles is rife
with development designed to take advantage of all the Charles has to
offer. Boathouses, jogging paths, sports fields and performance facilities
are ubiquitous and are utilized by hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts
city dwellers every year.
In the past the Chareles River has had an infamous reputatoin for water
pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency’s goal of making
the Charles "Swimmable by 2005" has not been entirely successful,
but swimming and fishing are becoming progressively safer, and today
90% of the length of the river is approved for swimmers. Health risks
do remain a problem, especially after rainstorms and when the riverbed’s
toxic sediment is whisked-up by a heavey rainstorm or other disruption.
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