
Water advocate and swimmer Christopher Swain managed to swim a partial length of the Gowanus Canal on Wednesday afternoon, despite having a delayed start. Swain, 47, hoped the Earth Day swim would create awareness about the current state of the Superfund site. He wants the canal, which is filled with industrial waste and sewage, to be clean enough for anyone to swim in.
Donning a bright yellow dry suit, goggles and earplugs, Swain began his swim at Degraw Street and ended his route at the parking lot of Whole Foods on 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street. He had hoped to swim the entire 1.8 mile length of the Gowanus. However, logistical problems with his starting location caused Swain delays for more than an hour, and due to an incoming storm and the risk of lightning, he decided to cut the swim short.
“You know what, things don't always work out,” Swain said after swimming what he estimates was a little over a mile. “In a way this is a nice metaphor. It's gonna take more than one day to clean up the entire Gowanus Canal, and it looks like with the conditions we're running into, it's gonna take more than one day to figure out how to swim to the end.”
The father of two is not new to swimming to raise awareness about water quality. Swain said in 2004 he swam the entire length of the Hudson River. He said he is working with the city to schedule his second attempt at swimming the Gowanus.
“I can see how hard the city’s working to do this cleanup,” Swain said. “It’s slow and it’s a big job, but they’re actually getting somewhere.”