These days, the Charles River has become a completely different type of natural resource. From beer brewing competitions to organized swim days, the river might finally be close to dropping its dirty reputation. With hopes to put a permanent floating dock for swimming near North Point Park, Swimmable Charles Committee Chair Jennifer Gilbert and Desalitech CEO Nadav Efraty (@NadavEfraty) joined Jim to take a closer look at the new face of the Charles River.
Gilbert hopes that the river will soon be swimmable for the whole summer. In the past twenty years, the Charles water has changed from a D to a B+ in rating, marking a tremendous increase in swimmable days throughout the summer.
According to the Swimmable Charles Committee Chair, North Point is a beautiful and under-utilized place, and it makes a lovely template for people and families to enjoy the swim facility. Gilbert said that the Charles is a glorious natural resource, and we should enjoy it however possible.
Desalitech, a water purification company, partnered with Hub Week last year for the “Brew the Charles Contest,” where different breweries competed to make the best beer out of the Charles water. CEO Efraty plans to do it much bigger this year. He noted that people can literally swim in their future beer, an exciting step in bringing awareness of water efficiency to the public.
Efraty notes that people are often unaware of how great of an impact water technology has on the products they consume. Heightening this awareness is key to increasing water efficiency and thinking about alternative resources. While Gilbert notes that the floating dock is a new way to make people “love the river,” Efraty says their efforts have the potential to show the public what modern water technology can do for them.
