Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park

Not trying to be an alarmist, but there maybe something wrong with the Schuykill River at the moment. Health advisory issued 6/15 due to large number of fish kill occuring. Currently being investigated. No swimming, boating, fishing, etc. is currently allowed in the water.

See website for more details. Need to keep an eye on this.

http://www.phillyrivercast.org/

You're not an alarmist (at least not the only one)...I saw the same thing on the news the other day.  Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.  I am looking forward to swimming in the river, though....seriously. 

Edited by nj newbie! 2006-06-16 9:58 AM

I guess they assured us the water is clean ??????#$%@#$@#$
I did it last year. The water smells a little bit, but it's clean enough.
The hardest part are the hills. The first one, that comes about a mile out of the water so your legs aren't warmed up yet, is the killer. Lemon Hill (going the race way as opposed to the Pro Race way) is short, but steep-less steep than the pro racers ride it. The road actually splits and we take the left.
I'm not a good hill climber, so I'm breathing very heavy on Chamounix. Argh, I dread it again.
I'm injured so I'll be walking the run.
Rhonda

http://www.phillyrivercast.org/nav_home.aspx

Health Advisory Update
Monday, June 20, 2006 - Posted at 4:30 PM EDT

TREATMENT PLANT SPILLS SEWAGE INTO WISSAHICKON
Power Outage at Ambler’s Wastewater Plant Caused Release of Untreated Effluent

NORRISTOWN - "Environmental Protection Regional Director Joseph A. Feola today announced that a Monday night power outage at the Ambler Borough wastewater treatment plant resulted in the release of approximately 55,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Wissahickon Creek, a stream impacted less than a week ago by problems discovered at the Upper Gwynedd wastewater treatment plant.

“While the plant operators in Ambler responded quickly to secure a temporary power source when a circuit breaker failed, this release of raw sewage is a serious matter and warranted swift response and oversight from DEP,” Feola said.

A DEP water quality specialist was dispatched to the site and reported no obvious impact to aquatic life. Permanent power was restored at 4 a.m. and the plant is operating within normal limits using ultraviolet light disinfection.

The ongoing investigation of a fish kill that occurred upstream last week near the outfall of the Upper Gwynedd wastewater treatment plant continues. DEP hopes to have confirming sample results today to identify the chemical that might have killed as many as 1,000 fish in the Wissahickon, and resulted in advisories to avoid contact with the stream. That pollutant is thought to have passed through the treatment plant and into the creek.

“Given this incident at the Ambler plant, we stand by our earlier advice to the public to restrict their contact with the waters of the Wissahickon until testing shows that conditions are back to normal,” Feola noted.

For more information on point source pollution, visit DEP’s Web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword: “watersheds.”
Department of Environmental Protection
Southeast Regional Office
2 East Main Street
Norristown, PA 19401-4915
CONTACT: Dennis Harney (484) 250-5819

I am also looking forward to the swim, but I'm not sure why. I'm not a good swimmer and I'm allergic to pollution. Good luck this weekend!