Do you draw the line with water quality?

I guess it depends on what you and your immune system can handle! It would give you some valuable open water swimming practice... but jeez... it does sound gross. Maybe try it... get in, swim a bit, and see how bad it actually is. If it's terrible, you vomit upon entry or catch a parasite or something, then you will be forced to work around the "Y" schedule for swimming... if it's tolerable, then you've struck gold, my dear friend!

Good luck.

Whizzzzzzzzzzzzz

Dealing with parasites and bacterial infections is NOT FUN!

If companies upstream from you are dumping sewage directly into the water, not only is that in violation of the Clean Water Act (and you should call the EPA about that) but also seriously increases the risk of you ingesting HUGE numbers of bacterial organisms, the least of which is Escheria coli, which could cause massive amounts of vomiting and diarrhea.  The fishy smell could be attributed to a few things, two of which are 1) you've got very fertile fish who reproduce often and frequently (go fishies!), or 2) the water quality is SO bad that not even they can survive and are dying and decomposing!

Long story short (too late I know), I'd do my best to NOT swim in the river behind your house.  Do what you can to work with the YMCA's schedule.

SR

PS: Bacterial levels that are deemed safe for swimming are (in the state of Georgia at least and in most states in the USofA)  anything below 200 bacteria/100 mL of water.  This level of contamination assumes that 5 out of 100 people who go swimming in that body of water will become ill.  Between the months of November-April, when recreational contact with water is less likely, the "safe" levels of bacteria are 1000 bacteria/100 mL water.  As the levels increase, the likelihood of you getting sick increases exponentially.  If it were me, I would NOT go swimming in that water.  If I did, I would make sure to tightly seal EVERY orifice of my body so as not to allow anything in!

As for the sewage thing, that hasn't taken place in many years, it just still has that reputation due to its murkiness.

As for bacterial contamination, I work as an Infection Control practitioner and work closely with the local public health unit re: infections/outbreaks so I know too well the risks, but according to the conservation authority the river has acceptable i.e. safe levels of contaminants. There is a very active fish population and there is always people fishing, and the ministry of natural resources monitors the fish in this river to determine the recommended fish consumtion numbers. Their recommendation not to use it for swimming, I believe, was again due to the murkiness and possibly the fact that there is so much trash (bikes, shopping carts, etc) on the bottom that perhaps if they encouraged swimming in it it would end up with kids diving into the murky water and doing a header off a Walmart buggy. It is deep enough that any rubbish resting on the bottom wouldn't bother me swimming close to the surface.

I think I just need to get over the fact that I wouldn't be able to see three inches in front of my face from the muddy water and try it out.