Going "Green"...or Blue? Can USMS do more?

Jennifer, It seems to me you are raising a number of issues that don't have a collective answer. Some of the pollution emission is controlled (or permitted) by state legislature. Most swimming orgs are staffed by volunteer or low-paid individuals who do not have the time, expertise, or interest to lobby. Yes, Lake Michigan is low, but it is always low in the fall. Your best allies might be fishers (used to be fishermen), just as wilderness preservers and tree huggers have found a strong ally in the hunting lobby, which is interested in careful husbandry of resources and habitat to enjoy its hobby. I do not think there is a single simple answer. Do you read the swim mags on-line rather than in paper form? Resources, including water, go into the electronics that allow you to do so. Nor am I sure what you are asking. Do you want US Masters Swim as an org to do something specific? What would that be? As a nonprofit org, and, more to the point, not wealthy org, it faces significant constraints. Wealthier nonprofits, such as Sierra Club, which would presumably attract private funding, are in better position to protect waters through protecting watersheds. I agree with aquageek that such matters are best left to deep-pocketed, dedicated orgs, some of which get federal money -- your tax dollars -- to carry out their good work. The Hudson got cleaned up through the actions of local individuals, and it took a long time, but perhaps that is a model for you to follow. I do not think anyone here disagrees with your desire for greener, bluer water, but translating that into action can take a lifetime. Do you want to try to do something where you live and swim? What specifically do you seek from this forum? Regards, VB

JP, I know you missed Big Shoulders this year, but did you know one of the beneficiaries of the swim starting this year is the Great Lakes Alliance (http://www.greatlakes.org/)? Good example, and a good suggestion for starting in one's backyard. Perhaps the organizers of a meet that enjoys Great Lakes water could be asked to make a donation of some kind. Lots of organizers simply don't know about Great Lakes Alliance. And one would want to be sure that some of the fee money so directed actually got used to promote water health rather than tourism. VB

Electronic distribution of USMS swimmer magazine is one idea. That may or may not be practical, advertisers may not pay at the same rate for a different format.

Yes, I think we have gone too far from the idea of the thread. I asked what USMS members, as swimmers, coaches, administrators could do environmentally, particularly about enhancing and encouraging cleaner water...really, in relation to our sport, which we do in water. I am very surprised that we have not had more Open Water comments! The comments on shorter, not as hot, showers are good. Keeping the temp. down a bit on the pool water is good, too. Trying to minimize paper, of course, is good (we have a river near here, the Kalamazoo, which has/had paper mills polluting it for years...it flows into Lake Michigan!) But where are the Open Water comments? I know the Manhattan swims have tried to promote cleaner water for years, particularly the Hudson but the other waters they swim in, too! What do or what can Open Water Swims do to promote cleaner water in their venue? My family and I do a team Triathlon in Lake Macatawa (once named Black Lake...by the way, the CEO of "Blackwater" comes from this area) that empties into Lake Michigan and we almost didn't get to swim this year because of an e coli reading the week before the Triathlon!! If we're going to make a big deal out of Open Water Swims...meaning we're (USMS) going really try to market them more, I believe we must promote cleaner water! How can we, as an organization, as well as we, as individuals in this sport do this?? That's what I'm asking....looking for more positive ideas. Does just scheduling an Open Water swim in a local body of water do it? Or do we need to actively get involved in trying not to have boats empty their bilges or companies dump their refuse into our swimming area? JP

Or do we need to actively get involved in trying not to have boats empty their bilges or companies dump their refuse into our swimming area? I'd rather see USMS, with their very low and fair dues, focus on swimming. There are plenty of environmental tree hugging groups that have the expertise and funding to take on environmental issues.

Many years ago there was a unique swim In Hamilton Ontario, The Cross Hamilton Bay Swim. It was about 2 miles. Hamilton is a very industrial town and sewage and industrial waste went into the bay. The big joke was that it was so puluted you could walk across the bay. By the early 40's they stopped all swimming in the bay. We cheated a bit. www.hamiltonharbour.ca/.../Birds-muddying-waters-TheSpec_16Aug06.pdf This article says swimming was banned in 1924 but races accross the bay were still held in the early 40s and they used to swim in LaSalle park beach in 1946. I know I was there. They have cleaned up the bay and when I was in Hamilton a few years ago I saw pictures in the paper of kids swimming in the places that I had swum in 1939. They are really doing a good job.

A rain barrel would do me much good with the drought Georgia is in. The rain barrel is for "the drought next time." I hope Jennifer comes back! Regards, VB

A rain barrel wouldn't do me much good with the drought Georgia is in.:whiteflag:

Things have a way of working out...global warming is melting glaciers giving us more water to desalinate and use for drinking, irrigation, etc. Save those barrels for crude oil.

If we're going to make a big deal out of Open Water Swims...meaning we're (USMS) going really try to market them more, I believe we must promote cleaner water! Jennifer, et al, Or water conservation? Pasted here is a note I received from Debra Shore (right after the forum note containing your note), one of the members of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago: You Asked for Them - We Got Them! Rain Barrels for Sale. Rain Barrels I am happy to report that the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has a new program to sell rain barrels to Cook County residents for the bargain price of $40. (Limit is 2). These 50-gallon barrels in fetching shades of sky blue or black have screens to prevent mosquitoes from breeding yet can easily capture rainwater from your gutters or downspout. Ask yourselves this: Why do we use drinking water that has been filtered, treated and piped to our faucet to irrigate our gardens and flowerbeds when we could be using perfectly good water delivered free by Nature instead? For a variety of reasons, a simple rain barrel connected to your downspout to capture rainwater off your roof makes a lot of sense. Rain barrels are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Harvesting rainwater saves money and it's good for the environment. If you use rainwater collected in rain barrels to water your garden or even to wash your car, you are not using - or paying for - filtered, treated drinking water. And the captured rain, when used to water your garden during a dry spell, then helps to recharge our underground aquifers rather than flowing into the sewers as it would during a storm. A 90-gallon rain barrel can hold 0.24 inch of rainfall from a 600 square foot roof. In a study conducted by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, if two 90-gallon rain barrels were installed at 40,000 homes, the amount of rain captured every year would be 243 million gallons. That's 243 million gallons of liquid assets that Nature delivers direct to your yard, that you don't have to pay for, and that won't require treatment at a sewage treatment plant - wow! Details and an online order form are at mwrd.org/mo/barrel/barrel.aspx . Barrels are available for pickup at three District locations during October: Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, 6001 West Pershing Rd., Cicero (pickup: 10/23/2007 and 10/27/2007) Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, 400 East 130th St., Chicago (pickup: 10/16/2007 and 10/20/2007) North Side Water Reclamation Plant, 3500 West Howard St., Skokie (pickup: 10/30/2007 and 11/3/2007) Rain barrels will also be available at a household hazardous waste collection day in Oak Forest at 159th and Lorel Avenue on October 27. Drop off your expired medicines, old solvents, fluorescent bulbs, batteries, oil-based paints and pick up a rain barrel to take home! See mwrd.org/.../HHHW1007.pdf . Why not start making deposits in your own water bank? It's one investment that makes total sense. Skip