Photo by: Brian EsquireThis is a story about swimming and sewage...two "s" words that should never be used in the same s-s-sentence...

I have explored Georgia rivers almost my entire life-first as a child "shooting the Hooch" on a raft in Atlanta and later as an adult in a 17-foot canoe. By and large, my interactions with our rivers have been from a boat.

As a follow up to yesterday's slog from Potomac Riverkeeper Ed Merrifield, I wanted to highlight the article, Nation's River is Regoin's Sewer (or in pdf), which features an interview with Mr. Merrifield.

The article discusses a number of the problems plaguing the Potomac River, including sewage pollution. But my favorite part is where Mr. Merrifield mentions that his goal for the Potomac River is for the President to again bring his or her family to swim in the River. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

To swim or not to swim, that is the question;

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The stomach upset and ear aches of dirty water

Or to take up the fight for effective alert programs...

Please excuse my butchering of the famous line from Hamlet, but this came immediately to mind after reading Sunday's Washington Post article about the safety of the Potomac River. The piece clearly illustrated how confusing it can be to figure out whether or not your river is safe for swimming, summed up well in the opening line, which reads:

Is it safe to swim in the Potomac River? No. Yes. Probably. Usually. Never.