19 ms·

Swimmable Cities

226 points by simonebrunozzi 2y ago

2four2 2y ago
A big red flag for me is that safety is not one of their foundational values.
- ben-schaaf 2y ago
  It's literally the first thing in the list of foundational values. > 1. The Right to Swim > Safe, healthy and swimmable waterways should be accessible to all people.
  - cassepipe 2y ago
    I guess they mean safe water as in water you will not get ill from swimming in whereas I think parent is talking about safety as in safe from drowning
    - ccppurcell 2y ago
      Why do you guess that? The sentence includes both "safe" and "healthy"; the latter is redundant on your guess about the former. This is basic reading comprehension really.
      - sakjur 2y ago
        A lake can be unsafe for people to swim in yet have a healthy ecosystem and vice versa. Or, if your reading is correct, redundancy might be an aesthetic choice.
        The_Colonel 2y ago
        > yet have a healthy ecosystem Interpreting "healthy" as "healthy ecosystem" doesn't really make sense in the context of an initiative focused on people being able to swim. This thread gives me the vibes of arguing for the sake of arguing. The first point mentions "safe" and "healthy", of course this initiative cares about both good water quality and safety from drowning, because those are quite important things for people wanting to swim.
        nayroclade 2y ago
        > This thread gives me the vibes of arguing for the sake of arguing. You must be new around here
        hk__2 2y ago
        > You must be new around here The commenter you respond to joined HN 4 years before you, with 10 times more karma points.
        chilmers 2y ago
        I was very obviously only making a joke. But ironically your reply perfectly embodies the petty, joyless and argumentative side of HN commenting I was alluding to.
        hk__2 2y ago
        > I was very obviously only making a joke. I know; it was a tentative to make the thread more serious than these snarky, unconstructive comments.
      - yreg 2y ago
        > This is basic reading comprehension really. Really? Do you need to attack the parent and make them seem dumb?
    - eesmith 2y ago
      "safe" means "safe", which should include: Will you get ill from the water? (As you mentioned.) Is it separated from watercraft traffic? (I've been to swimming areas with buoys to mark off where motorboats are not allowed.) Is there enough safety infrastructure? (For faster rivers, people can get pulled downstream too far. Is there a rope at the end of the bathing area to help people catch themselves? If the river has steep banks or walls, are there ladders for people to get out? Are there life rings and poles so people on shore can help those who get into trouble?) While this could lead to drowning, other possibilities can include hypothermia, or if someone managed to get onto small island but is exhausted and can't get off. Are there appropriate cautions posted or even closures for things like (this shows my beach background) unusually strong rip tides or jellyfish swarms? Is the area physically appropriate for swimmers? (I'm old enough to live through the pull-tab era, where people would toss the sharp-edged tabs into the sand, then someone else would step on it and cut their foot, eg, https://pulltabarchaeology.com/archaeology/ https://pulltabarchaeology.com/archaeology/ . Or read about the "syringe tide" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringe_tide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringe_tide .)
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- sakjur 2y ago
  I’m not sure I quite understand why that’d be a red flag? It’s great if there are lifelines, education, and good security equipment by the water, but if it’d be the city’s responsibility to keep me safe from drowning I’d worry they’d try to push me into swimming only where and when they have chosen.
- ehnto 2y ago
  My guess is that it goes without saying, because it's part of their school curriculum. (Assuming this has a particular countries perspective)
- fifilura 2y ago
  Better connection to nature makes swimming safer. Children learn to swim and respect water.
_1tan 2y ago
I was expecting something related to Seasteading before clicking the link. Anyone else?
- anothernewdude 2y ago
  I was expecting planning for climate change and the rising sea levels.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  I was imagining something more like concept-city based around an extensive quasi-Venetian canal network, where "swimmable" (like "walkable") defined a possible mode of regular transport. Also swim-up bars.
  - chilmers 2y ago
    Me too. I like to think that, if humans survive to reach some kind of utopian, post-scarcity state, people will experiment with building places like this, just because they can.
- xarope 2y ago
  I just spent some time in Basel, so I thought they'd mention about how the locals go for a dip after work with their wickelfisch and float downstream back home
  - omnimus 2y ago
    Or to work if your home is upstream.
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]
coreyh14444 2y ago
American living in Copenhagen here. We check all of these boxes. The entire channel that runs through town is swimmable thanks to decades of work cleaning it up. On a warm summer day, you could expect maybe 1000+ swimmers in the water in the city centre across all the locations. We also do Vinterbadere (Winter Bathing) throughout the year. The only time you can't swim is after a day or two of sustained rain and there is an app and red/green light system. My family lives on one of the new infill man-made "islands" and we have canals that run through our neighbourhood and you can swim laps around our apartment building.
- simonebrunozzi 2y ago
  Why you can't swim after the rain? Does the water get dirty, or else?
  - knallfrosch 2y ago
    Sewage and rainwater in the canals.
  - kombookcha 2y ago
    It can cause overflow from flooding sewer drains, which runs off into the canals. If that happens you'll want to wait a day or two for it to clear up.
  - interludead 2y ago
    In many cities the sewage and rainwater drainage systems are combined in some areas.
  - lou1306 2y ago
    Since all other replies are a bit too concise, I'll try and dive deeper (ha ha). 1) Naturally, rains wash out street grime and small pieces of rubbish which may easily bypass the sewage system altogether and end up in the river. 2) Cities have systems in place to treat wastewaters before releasing them into the rivers. However, these systems need to store yet-untreated water in reservoirs, and heavy rain may fill these up. Then, the only solution (if you don't want sewage to blast out sewer holes) is to release the water without treating it. In fact, one of the main upgrades made by Paris for the recent Olympics was a massive, 30-meter-deep new basin [1] built exactly to mitigate that risk. [1]: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/giant-reservoir-ready-service-paris-2024-games-loom-2024-05-02/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/giant-reservoir-ready-s...
w-ll 2y ago
Can someone make this as a Cities: Skylines mod?
- interludead 2y ago
  That would be cool!
RajT88 2y ago
Fucking mad, but I love it. Of course, you need to work into the culture swimming as a foundational cultural thing. (Not so in the US!) I can see us getting there in some decades. It tracks with other aspirational goals which are in progress.
- boredtofears 2y ago
  Why would you think swimming isn’t a cultural thing in the US? Municipal pools are everywhere across the US - and practically a staple for southwest residences. The US produces some of the world’s greatest swimmers. It’s a part of school curriculum and while we don’t really have swimmable canal cities (like most of North America) there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy swimming.
  - RajT88 2y ago
    Just going to comment once. From my experience, where I live (relatively affluent state, with Lake Michigan shoreline), it's highly regional who knows how to swim and who doesn't. People who grew up far south - not so much. Poorer folks - not so much. I always find it weird when people don't know how to swim (being where I am from, born when I was born, etc.), so I've definitely noticed there's certain segments of society who tend not to know. What I do know is lots of people don't know how to swim. Now - unrelated to my original post. I know a lot about the local river systems in our major cities. I wouldn't swim in even the bodies of water that look and smell nice (most don't). Actually, the rivers which don't look and smell nice are sometimes safer than the ones that do.
  - omnimus 2y ago
    I think for some reason USA has quite big percentage of people who cant swim. Compared to some countries where its part of mandatory education and thus the % is much lower.
    - cthalupa 2y ago
      ~80% of the US claims to be able to swim, though I've found some sources that say only ~60% have the "five basic swimming skills," but they don't seem to provide any details around how they determined that vs. the people self reporting the ability to swim. I'm not even finding consistent details on what the 5 skills even are, though being able to get into the water, float, tread water, perform some sort of basic swimming stroke, and get out of the water were probably the most numerous. I don't see how someone could claim they could swim and not be thinking of all of those things, though.
chris_armstrong 2y ago
Interesting to see Sydney Water put their sponsorship near the top of this. So much of Sydney including its larger rivers and waterholes are swimmable. Even our unique (but not very well known) ocean pools make many of our more dangerous surf beaches accessible.
- unixhero 2y ago
  》Even our unique (but not very well known) ocean pools make many of our more dangerous surf beaches accessible. What do you mean?
  - defrost 2y ago
    "Ocean pools" in Australia are large pools, often square or rectangular regular swimming pool shaped, that are set next to the ocean at sea level and can be connected or pump filled (ie tidal or permanent level). It's sea water, but without the sharks, wave action, rip currents, jelly fish, Bondi cigar's. etc Here are some in Sydney: https://oceanswims.com/lifestyle/5-of-the-best-ocean-pools-in-sydneys-east/ https://oceanswims.com/lifestyle/5-of-the-best-ocean-pools-i... Variations exist all around Australia. The N'West has Dampier's Shark Cage Beach - not a rock pool but a large steel fence enclosed swimming area to keep the sharks and the shark snacks seperated.
    - unixhero 2y ago
      I lived in Burleigh Heads for four years. I just didn't catch what you meant. Dumb me left and now I am stuck in the nordics, mortgage, wife and kids.
    - unixhero 2y ago
      Right right, Arlie Beach has one. The ocean there is so treacherous that no one bathes in the ocean :)
- pards 2y ago
  Bronte beach checks all the boxes: Open water surf, natural rock pool (Bogey Hole), and ocean pools.
beAbU 2y ago
I'm tickled by the African contact email address at the bottom of the page. "Roomys" translates to "Ice Cream" - and with Nandos being a South African fast food chain, and well known for their razor sharp marketing department, I wonder what the story is there...
- debok 2y ago
  I'm also incredibly curious about this. I sent them an e-mail. Let's see if they respond.
- botanical 2y ago
  Lol, I searched it found it's somehow the email for the "Jukskei River Revival Collective". Also, I'm surprised to see Joburg but not the other cities; it's not really notable for rivers, at least in the city centre areas. At least it's a the biggest metro not built around a river or something like that.
defrost 2y ago
Perth, Western Australia is very swimmable, river through the heart, great beaches to one edge. Very occassionally sharks, although these aren't something locals much worry about: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-15/bull-shark-involved-in-swan-river-fatal-attack-on-stella-berry/102097608 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-15/bull-shark-involved-i... Her death was the first fatal shark attack in the river in 100 years.
- unixhero 2y ago
  And probably quick too
- chinathrow 2y ago
  > although these aren't something locals much worry about Not so sure about that. I know of folks avoiding the swan river near the ocean mouth completely since the attack.
- Nursie 2y ago
  Locals mostly don't swim in the swan/canning estuary because it's full of jellyfish[1]. The water quality is fine but ... ewww. They're not particularly harmful ones but you don't want to get any part of them in your eye. I have heard, though can't substantiate, that the mass jellyfish population (and there really are swarms of them) is down to the ecosystem having been basically plundered to extinction, and jellies having colonised. I guess in time things that eat jellies will become more prevalent and eventually a more normal ecosystem may return. The jellies appear to be introduced from the queensland area, and may have arrived in ships ballast. Also yeah, poor woman, jumped in to swim with the dolphins and one of them wasn't a dolphin. Bull sharks have been seen fairly far upriver too. Rather take my chances in the sea. ([1] Phyllorhiza punctata - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllorhiza_punctata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllorhiza_punctata)
  - defrost 2y ago
    I'm a West Australian local, lived in Perth-Fremnantle in the 1980s and was often in the river, swimming, kayaking, falling off the river cliffs and bridges when climbing, or occassionally doing what is now no longer possible; opening the door and jumping from the Fremantle train as it crossed the rail bridge over the harbour. These days you'd have to ride the roof and deal with live over electric wires, etc and all the CCTV: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/man-faces-jail-for-fremantle-train-bridge-jump-as-wa-premier-weighs-in-20180408-p4z8gc.html https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/man-fa...
navane 2y ago
I was in Basel last summer. The Rhine splits the city in two, and all along it's shore is a boulevard / terrace / stairs to the water, and it felt like the whole city was swimming in it along the entire length.
- omnimus 2y ago
  Some people even swim to get to work. With little waterproof floating bags for their clothes. Thats quite something.
  - kombookcha 2y ago
    What a fun summertime commute! It never occurred to me to use it as transport instead of just working out :)
    - bitschubser_ 2y ago
      its a nice lunch break activity in summer, from the Wettstein Bridge to the Drei Rosen Bridge ;) and back with the Traemli
hopsworks 2y ago
In Stockholm, you can swim in most of the city center - except where the large ship lanes are. Thousands of people out swimming on a hot summers day.
- groundthrower 2y ago
  I have some questions on this. Living on west coast of Sweden, our family went to Stockholm this summer and as the temperature rose, we asked were to go and swim and basically no one knew and we didn’t see people doing it either.
  - dmytroi 2y ago
    Some popular in inner city: Tanto strandbad, Långholmsbadet, Smedsuddsbadet, Fredhällsbadet, Kristinebergsbadet, Brunnsviksbadet. Plenty of folks swim during hot periods in summer.
    - groundthrower 2y ago
      Yes, we went to Tanto but considering how much water that Stockholm is surrounded with, I can’t say it’s very accessible. That is also the view of some friends living there.
      - whizzter 2y ago
        If it's a beach that's appropriate for smaller kids you're after with shallow water, yes you probably have to go to the more prepared beaches with sand that has shallow water a bit out. Many places in central Stockholm have been built out from natural beaches by claiming water so the water will be deep at those points (probably held quays that was used for transports before trucks took over), but even in many places like that nobody would bat an eye if someone took a non-nudist swim. Apart from the extremes most local teens and upwards will find cliffs by the water, as mentioned not appropriate for smaller kids and seniors as it's adjacent to deep water but perfect otherwise.
  - piva00 2y ago
maurits 2y ago
Swiss river swimming is one of the highlights of my year.
- creakingstairs 2y ago
  I’ve come across a video where Swiss people were commuting from work by diving into the river yesterday and it blew my mind! It looks so delightful. I’ve never thought about going to Switzerland for holiday but now it’s all I’m thinking about.
  - darajava 2y ago
    Have you got a link to the video?
    - creakingstairs 2y ago
      https://youtu.be/IYaPfuTkWGU?si=Bdqp6pbCzbGMmQhk https://youtu.be/IYaPfuTkWGU?si=Bdqp6pbCzbGMmQhk https://youtu.be/iA2cLQ_p6V0?si=FDH_JhD5TBcPxHfP https://youtu.be/iA2cLQ_p6V0?si=FDH_JhD5TBcPxHfP Here you go!
- gryzzly 2y ago
  My wife and I are going to summer vacation to Swiss towns that are on the river Aare for this exact reason. To me, floating in blue, transparent, super clean water on a hot day is heaven. Swiss are also individualist folk, so there is always many almost individual options to enter and leave the water or stay by it. It is depressing to come back to Berlin’s Spree and Havel that are both filled with cyanoalgae and Spree is also used for waste water when there is too much rain. It is lovely to see this initiative, perhaps there is hope for a clean swim in Berlin too.
  - gryzzly 2y ago
    Although for now, even switching the touring boats to electric engines, which should be easy enough (why do the private companies benefit from public space selling 25€/seat tours in the city center while spewing huge clouds of exhaust into the air and dumping oil and dirt into the river? – they should at least switch to clean engines and for a limited km range tours this would be sensible) is not done in Berlin. Even the ferries that the transport company operates are not all electric (cause they actually rent some of them from the private boat touring companies), although there they could even be tethered and not require a battery at all. Anyway, all of this is just optimistic hippie talk, I will rather just move to Switzerland than wait for Germany to clean up.
rmason 2y ago
Can anyone tell me which city has the swimming pool right on the river that's on the home page? In Michigan there are a lot of places in a downtown area that would be so cool in Michigan and it could double as an ice rink in the winter. It would also be terrific to have a river pool or two integrated with Detroit's famed river walk but sadly Detroit's water just isn't quite there yet. Lots cleaner than in the sixties and seventies but cleanup efforts stalled a while back when the state stopped funding efforts and lost the federal matching funds.
- robin_reala 2y ago
  This one? https://static.wixstatic.com/media/da9022_8ba6b54ceec54bcaacf476b40aeea836~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1394,h_545,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/da9022_8ba6b54ceec54bcaacf476b40aeea836~mv2.jpg https://static.wixstatic.com/media/da9022_8ba6b54ceec54bcaac... It was a temporary installation in Brussels: BADEAU. https://www.pooliscool.org/news/2016/9/22/badeau-the-first-public-open-air-swimming-pool-in-brussels https://www.pooliscool.org/news/2016/9/22/badeau-the-first-p...
  - rmason 2y ago
    Thank you. Brussels is one city I have yet to visit in Europe and it looks beautiful.
- interludead 2y ago
  Badeschiff in Berlin! An iconic floating pool on the Spree River. It was so cool when i visited it!
_uoud 2y ago
Helsinki Finland is pretty good too, take a look at Allas Sea Pool or Löyly, or any of the public saunas, islands and beaches all over the city.
tomw1808 2y ago
Vienna is very swimmable. Not right now, because its cold and rainy, but on a hot summer day thousands of people gather and swim in the Danube every single day. It's amazing, the water is relatively clean, small fishes inside, its a joy for children and adults alike.
- jahnu 2y ago
  Would be nice to get the canal swimmable too. And enough water in the Wien to even contemplate it :D
  - phaer 2y ago
    You can swim there if you want! there's a picture with ppl swimming in Viennas canal (Donaukanal) on the website and there's a whole association around it which claims 300+ members: https://schwimmvereindonaukanal.org/ https://schwimmvereindonaukanal.org/. That being said, Donauinsel is still quite close to the center and I personally prefer the relative quietness and greenery around there to swimming in the canal.
    - jahnu 2y ago
      Ok I didn’t mean that much water! https://bsky.app/profile/jamestheswift.bsky.social/post/3l47hgaus3z2m https://bsky.app/profile/jamestheswift.bsky.social/post/3l47...
    - welder 2y ago
      It's not so safe.. boats and currents. I prefer swimming in the pool that's floating on the canal: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAb0gXufXx https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAb0gXufXx
      - phaer 2y ago
        I suppose it's less safe then a pool, but I don't think there's more current compared to the Danube and there are boats there as well.
yellowapple 2y ago
I was expecting this to be a joke about rising sea levels.
PrivateButts 2y ago
There's a large creek that feeds into lake Erie nearby that we used to hike and swim for several miles until we got to the lake. It was an all day affair, but it was a great time. Our dog at the time was a lab shepherd mix and I think those hikes were some of the best times of his life, getting to explore and swim and run like a goof. I don't ever want to live in a place without good access to large bodies of water, summers wouldn't be the same without it.
- interludead 2y ago
  It’s interesting how the access to water can make such a difference in how you experience a place
aqme28 2y ago
I always think about how different NYC would be if you could swim in the Hudson and East river. Pollution robs us of so much
- macNchz 2y ago
  Generally I think it is actually pretty much safe unless it has rained heavily recently. The last time I looked at the data, much of the harbor and Hudson have bacteria counts that are consistently within the safe-for-bathing parameters. The East River is the most polluted, however it also has strong and changing currents that make it less interesting for swimming. Ultimately I think there’s just kind of a general inertia against it—a public perception that the water is gross (as it certainly was for generations), lack of facilities to easily enter the water, and a city government that’s not especially interested in promoting it, probably for liability reasons primarily. Personally I’d love to see the Central Park reservoir made into a swimming place. As I understand it, it’s never actually used as a reservoir anymore and would be perfect for swimming if they built an entry point. Instead they arrest people who get in.
fragmede 2y ago
There was a commute-by-river in Switzerland video that went around! https://www.tiktok.com/@diplo/video/7398259675214646574 https://www.tiktok.com/@diplo/video/7398259675214646574
elric 2y ago
In Belgium, we don't even have swimmable pools. There are too few of them, their opening hours are worthless, going for a swim is stupidly expensive (~8eur), and many pools now require that you show them ID before you're allowed to enter. In all, it's become extremely unpleasant. The results are as depressing as expected: more drownings (especially in the north sea) every year, and kids can barely stay afloat anymore. There's a shortage of lifeguards, and (imo) some serious overregulation. No swimming allowed anywhere unless there are lifeguards on duty. It's a catch-22. People don't swim, so they suck at swimming, so they drown when they do swim, so we get more restrictions, etc.
- MaxDorkroom 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - elric 2y ago
    Are you saying €8 is not too expensive for a swim? That's an insane price. Yes, the ID thing is preventing me from entering. It's not about keeping "undocumented and migrants" out. It's allegedly about keeping troublemakers out, but it's yet another pointless deterrent. There's no need to force everyone to show an ID to enter a pool simply because of a few bad apples. I don't care about your bizarre rhetoric about "how low Europe has sunk", please take your nonsense elsewhere. We certainly don't need razor wire or security guards in pools. Though, perversely, I'm sure it's easier to convince politicians to install those than it is to spend more money on lifeguards.
    - croes 2y ago
      Expensive maybe, but not insane.
  - hk__2 2y ago
    For comparison, in Paris it costs €3.5 to enter one of the ~40 public swimming pools. > The idea for showing ID, which happens in other countries too at least for events, is probably to keep the undocumented and migrant ones out. For which reason would you want to prevent undocumented/migrant persons from swimming in a pool?
hk__2 2y ago
Paris is kind of partially swimmable in the Summer: a little portion of the Canal Saint-Martin is open to bathing under supervision during the months of July and August, only during weekends. This is because otherwise the canal is a dangerous place to bath because of the locks. The city plans to open the Seine to bathing by 2025, as well a small lake in the Bois de Vincennes. Things move slowly, but in a good direction.
bounder 2y ago
This is a great initiative. It is weird if you think about it. Why are our waterways in many cities so polluted and dangerous that you can't use them safely as a human(or any animal)? We should take more care about making the environment we live in safe and accessible for everyone. Amsterdam (and many other cities in the Netherlands) have swimmable parts. I'm coming from Groningen myself and there the government made a beach on one of the canals: https://www.visitgroningen.nl/nl/locaties/2159964091/stadsstrand https://www.visitgroningen.nl/nl/locaties/2159964091/stadsst... In Amsterdam, you have the Amsterdam city swim, a yearly event where participants swim through the canals.
- tetris11 2y ago
  London has many historically swimmable waterways and canals. Unfortunately 14 years of deregulation by allowing companies to dump waste into rivers have rendered much of these beautiful waterways unswimmable.
  - hayd 2y ago
    Nonsense. What deregulation? You think rivers in the uk were pristine or even just cleaner 15 years ago? lol, they were not.
    - jodrellblank 2y ago
      Lol, they were. “In its evidence to the committee, the Environment Agency said that in 2021 the environmental performance of water companies was “at its lowest ever level” and the performance of most companies was declining.”” - https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/cleaning-up-failures-in-water-and-sewage-regulation-industry-and-regulators-committee-report/ https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/cleaning-up-failures-in-w... “Sewage spills in the UK hit a record high in 2023, amplifying public anger at the state of the country's dirty rivers and the private companies responsible for the pollution, such as the country's biggest supplier, Thames Water.” - https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/uk-aims-curb-water-pollution-with-tougher-penalties-stronger-regulation-2024-09-05/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/uk-aims-curb-wa...
rob74 2y ago
As someone who lives in Munich, the logo of "Isarlust EV" immediately jumped out at me. Unfortunately it's linked incorrectly - here's the correct URL: https://www.isarlust.org/ https://www.isarlust.org/ (German only). Of course, the task is a bit easier for Munich than for other cities, as it doesn't have a lot of possible pollutants upstream of it. The other side of the medal is that the river is hair-raisingly cold, as it comes pretty directly from the mountains...
ljf 2y ago
I used to regularly kayak in the River Thames (London, UK) - I didn't concentrate one day and forgot to keep the kayak always facing the current, and a small boat wake/wave knocked me over. I swallowed a little water while righting myself - as was burping a horrible metallic taste for days after - but I didn't get ill. Might have been helped that within an hour of falling in, I was at a friends 30th, and the alcohol consumed may have had some preventative effect? /s
- dgroshev 2y ago
  I'm quite sure that's autosuggestion. I was kayaking on the Thames too (up in Richmond/Teddington), but on marathon/sprint kayaks which are very narrow and unstable, so most people in the kayaking club (hundreds of people!) flipped pretty regularly. We also went to swim from the pontoon in the summer every weekend for years. I can't recall anyone experiencing a persistent metallic taste, and I'm only aware of a single case of food poisoning in the club over the five years I was an active member, and that could be anything. I do remember seeing seals, fishes, eels, kingfishers, herons, and cormorants though. The Thames is a lovely river with bad reputation because of the silt that tides are constantly churning up, and the only problem left (sewer overflows during heavy rain) will be finally gone next year when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tideway_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tideway_Tunnel goes operational.
  - ljf 2y ago
    Yeah, I was down Putney Bridge - most people had fallen in at some point, but no one fell ill - but I would not have swim in there out of choice, you could see oil slicks on the water regularly - this was about 2008 I guess.
paganel 2y ago
This has to be a joke seeing how much of a fuckup "swimming in the Seine" for the Olympics has been, but I gather this writer hasn't kept up to date with people commenting on L'Equipe's related posts on social media. Maybe they just can't read French.
- hk__2 2y ago
  > This has to be a joke seeing how much of a fuckup "swimming in the Seine" for the Olympics has been, but I gather this writer hasn't kept up to date with people commenting on L'Equipe's related posts on social media. Maybe they just can't read French. The Olympics and having the Seine swimmable for everybody are different things; the criteria for athletes and for the general population are not the same. The objective of having the Seine open to swimming again still stands and should be achieved by Summer 2025, as expected. That being said the "swimming in the Seine" during the Olympics and Paralympics has been complicated but I wouldn’t call it a "fuckup"; triathlon athletes are used to these conditions (think about Rio, which had much higher contamination levels, or Sydney which had (risk of) sharks and bacterias), and nobody has been sick after the competitions.
xiwenc 2y ago
Great initiative! As a relatively late swimmer (started learning in my thirties), more people should be able to swim. I was expecting to see a map or list of places/cities to find out whether it’s safe to swim. But it seems that is not part of this initiative?
- ghaff 2y ago
  Being able to swim at a basic level seems like a fairly basic safety thing but I expect a fair number of people who grew up in places where swimming wasn't commonplace never learned. I went to school someplace that required passing a swim test or at least taking a class but don't know how rigidly that was enforced.
haunter 2y ago
Bern is probably my favorite swimmable city
- zweifuss 2y ago
  Full ack. Water quality can be very good. Sligtly dangerours, witch makes it exciting.
pirate787 2y ago
This is something I want to share but its platform includes nakedly racist framing: Urban swimmers are stewards responsible for protecting the health of their local waterways, working alongside Mother Earth’s closest carers, such as Indigenous peoples...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
imglorp 2y ago
Thanks to the Clean Water Act, lots of the US is swimmable and clean. But we have a much bigger problem preventing it: lawyers. Lakes in State Parks will likely have swimming banned because people will not be self responsible.
the_real_cher 2y ago
Not too many in Northern Australia I imagine.
vilkkala 2y ago
It takes less than a minute to walk calmly from my front door in an apartment complex to a public beach in Tampere, Finland. In my neighbourhood, you just see random people walking on the sidewalk in bathrobes on their way to the beach or back. It's 15 minutes walk from the city center.
dade_ 2y ago
In Toronto, we have a serious problem with out old combined sewage system and the lack of transparency from all levels of government on the reality of the water quality. I appreciate the work by Swim Drink Fish: The name Swim Drink Fish comes from signs that are all too often found on shorelines around Canada: no swimming, no fishing, and no drinking. Our organisation’s goal is simple: restore the health of local waters so that every last one of those signs is removed. We strive for a world where every watershed can be enjoyed by the communities, doing what they love. https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca/ https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca/
greenie_beans 2y ago
my first thought was, oh weird, swimming to commute?
j_m_b 2y ago
In the US, we've essentially banned swimming outside of a few lifeguard-monitored zones. There are no swimming signs everywhere and in places you wouldn't otherwise think should be banned, such as public lakes or beaches. People still do swim in these areas, but I remember a squad of cop cars showing up at Lake Artemesia near UMD because a woman was gasp swimming in the lake.
- ghaff 2y ago
  I guess that hasn't been my experience. I see people swimming all the time in locations where there aren't lifeguards and other safety measures.
- rascul 2y ago
  In the US, I find swimming holes all over the place without lifeguards and without swimming restrictions. I guess it depends on the area.
sexy_seedbox 2y ago
Hong Kong is also a very swimmable city, lots of awesome beaches.
blang 2y ago
Seattle is swimmable. Lake Washington, Green Lake (both fresh water), and the Puget Sound (salt water) are swimmable in city limits. I swim in lake Washington 3 times a week May - October. As in another comment here about Copenhagen, you cannot swim after hard rain because of how the sewer systems were designed. Seattle is famous for rain, but not the type of rain that will cause a spill over event often. The county government also tests the water for bacteria and algae and reports the findings on their website and closures are signed at access points. https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/parks-recreation/king-county-parks/water-recreation/swimming-beach-bacteria-temperature https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/parks-... Also while there is a lot of private ownership of water access, there are 9 city beaches and something called street ends, which are public right of ways if a street ends at water, I swim from these all the time. https://www.streetends.org/about https://www.streetends.org/about
tootie 2y ago
All things being equal having clean waterways is better than hsn dirty ones but this doesn't really seem like a priority. Plenty of cities just don't have the climate or geography to make this possible and plenty of people can't or don't swim. Arguably NYC is very swimmable since it's mostly on islands but the waterways are fairly rough and very wide and result it at least a few drownings every year.

Swimmable Cities

2four2 2y ago

A big red flag for me is that safety is not one of their foundational values.

ben-schaaf 2y ago
It's literally the first thing in the list of foundational values. > 1. The Right to Swim > Safe, healthy and swimmable waterways should be accessible to all people.
- cassepipe 2y ago
  I guess they mean safe water as in water you will not get ill from swimming in whereas I think parent is talking about safety as in safe from drowning
  - ccppurcell 2y ago
    Why do you guess that? The sentence includes both "safe" and "healthy"; the latter is redundant on your guess about the former. This is basic reading comprehension really.
    - sakjur 2y ago
      A lake can be unsafe for people to swim in yet have a healthy ecosystem and vice versa. Or, if your reading is correct, redundancy might be an aesthetic choice.
      - The_Colonel 2y ago
        > yet have a healthy ecosystem Interpreting "healthy" as "healthy ecosystem" doesn't really make sense in the context of an initiative focused on people being able to swim. This thread gives me the vibes of arguing for the sake of arguing. The first point mentions "safe" and "healthy", of course this initiative cares about both good water quality and safety from drowning, because those are quite important things for people wanting to swim.
        nayroclade 2y ago
        > This thread gives me the vibes of arguing for the sake of arguing. You must be new around here
        hk__2 2y ago
        > You must be new around here The commenter you respond to joined HN 4 years before you, with 10 times more karma points.
        chilmers 2y ago
        I was very obviously only making a joke. But ironically your reply perfectly embodies the petty, joyless and argumentative side of HN commenting I was alluding to.
        hk__2 2y ago
        > I was very obviously only making a joke. I know; it was a tentative to make the thread more serious than these snarky, unconstructive comments.
    - yreg 2y ago
      > This is basic reading comprehension really. Really? Do you need to attack the parent and make them seem dumb?
  - eesmith 2y ago
    "safe" means "safe", which should include: Will you get ill from the water? (As you mentioned.) Is it separated from watercraft traffic? (I've been to swimming areas with buoys to mark off where motorboats are not allowed.) Is there enough safety infrastructure? (For faster rivers, people can get pulled downstream too far. Is there a rope at the end of the bathing area to help people catch themselves? If the river has steep banks or walls, are there ladders for people to get out? Are there life rings and poles so people on shore can help those who get into trouble?) While this could lead to drowning, other possibilities can include hypothermia, or if someone managed to get onto small island but is exhausted and can't get off. Are there appropriate cautions posted or even closures for things like (this shows my beach background) unusually strong rip tides or jellyfish swarms? Is the area physically appropriate for swimmers? (I'm old enough to live through the pull-tab era, where people would toss the sharp-edged tabs into the sand, then someone else would step on it and cut their foot, eg, https://pulltabarchaeology.com/archaeology/ https://pulltabarchaeology.com/archaeology/ . Or read about the "syringe tide" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringe_tide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringe_tide .)
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
sakjur 2y ago
I’m not sure I quite understand why that’d be a red flag? It’s great if there are lifelines, education, and good security equipment by the water, but if it’d be the city’s responsibility to keep me safe from drowning I’d worry they’d try to push me into swimming only where and when they have chosen.
ehnto 2y ago
My guess is that it goes without saying, because it's part of their school curriculum. (Assuming this has a particular countries perspective)
fifilura 2y ago
Better connection to nature makes swimming safer. Children learn to swim and respect water.

_1tan 2y ago

I was expecting something related to Seasteading before clicking the link. Anyone else?

anothernewdude 2y ago
I was expecting planning for climate change and the rising sea levels.
Terr_ 2y ago
I was imagining something more like concept-city based around an extensive quasi-Venetian canal network, where "swimmable" (like "walkable") defined a possible mode of regular transport. Also swim-up bars.
- chilmers 2y ago
  Me too. I like to think that, if humans survive to reach some kind of utopian, post-scarcity state, people will experiment with building places like this, just because they can.
xarope 2y ago
I just spent some time in Basel, so I thought they'd mention about how the locals go for a dip after work with their wickelfisch and float downstream back home
- omnimus 2y ago
  Or to work if your home is upstream.

aaron695 2y ago

[dead]

coreyh14444 2y ago

American living in Copenhagen here. We check all of these boxes. The entire channel that runs through town is swimmable thanks to decades of work cleaning it up. On a warm summer day, you could expect maybe 1000+ swimmers in the water in the city centre across all the locations. We also do Vinterbadere (Winter Bathing) throughout the year. The only time you can't swim is after a day or two of sustained rain and there is an app and red/green light system. My family lives on one of the new infill man-made "islands" and we have canals that run through our neighbourhood and you can swim laps around our apartment building.

simonebrunozzi 2y ago
Why you can't swim after the rain? Does the water get dirty, or else?
- knallfrosch 2y ago
  Sewage and rainwater in the canals.
- kombookcha 2y ago
  It can cause overflow from flooding sewer drains, which runs off into the canals. If that happens you'll want to wait a day or two for it to clear up.
- interludead 2y ago
  In many cities the sewage and rainwater drainage systems are combined in some areas.
- lou1306 2y ago
  Since all other replies are a bit too concise, I'll try and dive deeper (ha ha). 1) Naturally, rains wash out street grime and small pieces of rubbish which may easily bypass the sewage system altogether and end up in the river. 2) Cities have systems in place to treat wastewaters before releasing them into the rivers. However, these systems need to store yet-untreated water in reservoirs, and heavy rain may fill these up. Then, the only solution (if you don't want sewage to blast out sewer holes) is to release the water without treating it. In fact, one of the main upgrades made by Paris for the recent Olympics was a massive, 30-meter-deep new basin [1] built exactly to mitigate that risk. [1]: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/giant-reservoir-ready-service-paris-2024-games-loom-2024-05-02/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/giant-reservoir-ready-s...

w-ll 2y ago

Can someone make this as a Cities: Skylines mod?

interludead 2y ago
That would be cool!

RajT88 2y ago

Fucking mad, but I love it. Of course, you need to work into the culture swimming as a foundational cultural thing. (Not so in the US!) I can see us getting there in some decades. It tracks with other aspirational goals which are in progress.

boredtofears 2y ago
Why would you think swimming isn’t a cultural thing in the US? Municipal pools are everywhere across the US - and practically a staple for southwest residences. The US produces some of the world’s greatest swimmers. It’s a part of school curriculum and while we don’t really have swimmable canal cities (like most of North America) there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy swimming.
- RajT88 2y ago
  Just going to comment once. From my experience, where I live (relatively affluent state, with Lake Michigan shoreline), it's highly regional who knows how to swim and who doesn't. People who grew up far south - not so much. Poorer folks - not so much. I always find it weird when people don't know how to swim (being where I am from, born when I was born, etc.), so I've definitely noticed there's certain segments of society who tend not to know. What I do know is lots of people don't know how to swim. Now - unrelated to my original post. I know a lot about the local river systems in our major cities. I wouldn't swim in even the bodies of water that look and smell nice (most don't). Actually, the rivers which don't look and smell nice are sometimes safer than the ones that do.
- omnimus 2y ago
  I think for some reason USA has quite big percentage of people who cant swim. Compared to some countries where its part of mandatory education and thus the % is much lower.
  - cthalupa 2y ago
    ~80% of the US claims to be able to swim, though I've found some sources that say only ~60% have the "five basic swimming skills," but they don't seem to provide any details around how they determined that vs. the people self reporting the ability to swim. I'm not even finding consistent details on what the 5 skills even are, though being able to get into the water, float, tread water, perform some sort of basic swimming stroke, and get out of the water were probably the most numerous. I don't see how someone could claim they could swim and not be thinking of all of those things, though.

chris_armstrong 2y ago

Interesting to see Sydney Water put their sponsorship near the top of this. So much of Sydney including its larger rivers and waterholes are swimmable. Even our unique (but not very well known) ocean pools make many of our more dangerous surf beaches accessible.

unixhero 2y ago
》Even our unique (but not very well known) ocean pools make many of our more dangerous surf beaches accessible. What do you mean?
- defrost 2y ago
  "Ocean pools" in Australia are large pools, often square or rectangular regular swimming pool shaped, that are set next to the ocean at sea level and can be connected or pump filled (ie tidal or permanent level). It's sea water, but without the sharks, wave action, rip currents, jelly fish, Bondi cigar's. etc Here are some in Sydney: https://oceanswims.com/lifestyle/5-of-the-best-ocean-pools-in-sydneys-east/ https://oceanswims.com/lifestyle/5-of-the-best-ocean-pools-i... Variations exist all around Australia. The N'West has Dampier's Shark Cage Beach - not a rock pool but a large steel fence enclosed swimming area to keep the sharks and the shark snacks seperated.
  - unixhero 2y ago
    I lived in Burleigh Heads for four years. I just didn't catch what you meant. Dumb me left and now I am stuck in the nordics, mortgage, wife and kids.
  - unixhero 2y ago
    Right right, Arlie Beach has one. The ocean there is so treacherous that no one bathes in the ocean :)
pards 2y ago
Bronte beach checks all the boxes: Open water surf, natural rock pool (Bogey Hole), and ocean pools.

beAbU 2y ago

I'm tickled by the African contact email address at the bottom of the page. "Roomys" translates to "Ice Cream" - and with Nandos being a South African fast food chain, and well known for their razor sharp marketing department, I wonder what the story is there...

debok 2y ago
I'm also incredibly curious about this. I sent them an e-mail. Let's see if they respond.
botanical 2y ago
Lol, I searched it found it's somehow the email for the "Jukskei River Revival Collective". Also, I'm surprised to see Joburg but not the other cities; it's not really notable for rivers, at least in the city centre areas. At least it's a the biggest metro not built around a river or something like that.

defrost 2y ago

Perth, Western Australia is very swimmable, river through the heart, great beaches to one edge. Very occassionally sharks, although these aren't something locals much worry about: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-15/bull-shark-involved-in-swan-river-fatal-attack-on-stella-berry/102097608 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-15/bull-shark-involved-i... Her death was the first fatal shark attack in the river in 100 years.

unixhero 2y ago
And probably quick too
chinathrow 2y ago
> although these aren't something locals much worry about Not so sure about that. I know of folks avoiding the swan river near the ocean mouth completely since the attack.
Nursie 2y ago
Locals mostly don't swim in the swan/canning estuary because it's full of jellyfish[1]. The water quality is fine but ... ewww. They're not particularly harmful ones but you don't want to get any part of them in your eye. I have heard, though can't substantiate, that the mass jellyfish population (and there really are swarms of them) is down to the ecosystem having been basically plundered to extinction, and jellies having colonised. I guess in time things that eat jellies will become more prevalent and eventually a more normal ecosystem may return. The jellies appear to be introduced from the queensland area, and may have arrived in ships ballast. Also yeah, poor woman, jumped in to swim with the dolphins and one of them wasn't a dolphin. Bull sharks have been seen fairly far upriver too. Rather take my chances in the sea. ([1] Phyllorhiza punctata - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllorhiza_punctata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllorhiza_punctata)
- defrost 2y ago
  I'm a West Australian local, lived in Perth-Fremnantle in the 1980s and was often in the river, swimming, kayaking, falling off the river cliffs and bridges when climbing, or occassionally doing what is now no longer possible; opening the door and jumping from the Fremantle train as it crossed the rail bridge over the harbour. These days you'd have to ride the roof and deal with live over electric wires, etc and all the CCTV: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/man-faces-jail-for-fremantle-train-bridge-jump-as-wa-premier-weighs-in-20180408-p4z8gc.html https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/man-fa...

navane 2y ago

I was in Basel last summer. The Rhine splits the city in two, and all along it's shore is a boulevard / terrace / stairs to the water, and it felt like the whole city was swimming in it along the entire length.

omnimus 2y ago
Some people even swim to get to work. With little waterproof floating bags for their clothes. Thats quite something.
- kombookcha 2y ago
  What a fun summertime commute! It never occurred to me to use it as transport instead of just working out :)
  - bitschubser_ 2y ago
    its a nice lunch break activity in summer, from the Wettstein Bridge to the Drei Rosen Bridge ;) and back with the Traemli

hopsworks 2y ago

In Stockholm, you can swim in most of the city center - except where the large ship lanes are. Thousands of people out swimming on a hot summers day.

groundthrower 2y ago
I have some questions on this. Living on west coast of Sweden, our family went to Stockholm this summer and as the temperature rose, we asked were to go and swim and basically no one knew and we didn’t see people doing it either.
- dmytroi 2y ago
  Some popular in inner city: Tanto strandbad, Långholmsbadet, Smedsuddsbadet, Fredhällsbadet, Kristinebergsbadet, Brunnsviksbadet. Plenty of folks swim during hot periods in summer.
  - groundthrower 2y ago
    Yes, we went to Tanto but considering how much water that Stockholm is surrounded with, I can’t say it’s very accessible. That is also the view of some friends living there.
    - whizzter 2y ago
      If it's a beach that's appropriate for smaller kids you're after with shallow water, yes you probably have to go to the more prepared beaches with sand that has shallow water a bit out. Many places in central Stockholm have been built out from natural beaches by claiming water so the water will be deep at those points (probably held quays that was used for transports before trucks took over), but even in many places like that nobody would bat an eye if someone took a non-nudist swim. Apart from the extremes most local teens and upwards will find cliffs by the water, as mentioned not appropriate for smaller kids and seniors as it's adjacent to deep water but perfect otherwise.
- piva00 2y ago

maurits 2y ago

Swiss river swimming is one of the highlights of my year.

creakingstairs 2y ago
I’ve come across a video where Swiss people were commuting from work by diving into the river yesterday and it blew my mind! It looks so delightful. I’ve never thought about going to Switzerland for holiday but now it’s all I’m thinking about.
- darajava 2y ago
  Have you got a link to the video?
  - creakingstairs 2y ago
    https://youtu.be/IYaPfuTkWGU?si=Bdqp6pbCzbGMmQhk https://youtu.be/IYaPfuTkWGU?si=Bdqp6pbCzbGMmQhk https://youtu.be/iA2cLQ_p6V0?si=FDH_JhD5TBcPxHfP https://youtu.be/iA2cLQ_p6V0?si=FDH_JhD5TBcPxHfP Here you go!
gryzzly 2y ago
My wife and I are going to summer vacation to Swiss towns that are on the river Aare for this exact reason. To me, floating in blue, transparent, super clean water on a hot day is heaven. Swiss are also individualist folk, so there is always many almost individual options to enter and leave the water or stay by it. It is depressing to come back to Berlin’s Spree and Havel that are both filled with cyanoalgae and Spree is also used for waste water when there is too much rain. It is lovely to see this initiative, perhaps there is hope for a clean swim in Berlin too.
- gryzzly 2y ago
  Although for now, even switching the touring boats to electric engines, which should be easy enough (why do the private companies benefit from public space selling 25€/seat tours in the city center while spewing huge clouds of exhaust into the air and dumping oil and dirt into the river? – they should at least switch to clean engines and for a limited km range tours this would be sensible) is not done in Berlin. Even the ferries that the transport company operates are not all electric (cause they actually rent some of them from the private boat touring companies), although there they could even be tethered and not require a battery at all. Anyway, all of this is just optimistic hippie talk, I will rather just move to Switzerland than wait for Germany to clean up.

rmason 2y ago

Can anyone tell me which city has the swimming pool right on the river that's on the home page? In Michigan there are a lot of places in a downtown area that would be so cool in Michigan and it could double as an ice rink in the winter. It would also be terrific to have a river pool or two integrated with Detroit's famed river walk but sadly Detroit's water just isn't quite there yet. Lots cleaner than in the sixties and seventies but cleanup efforts stalled a while back when the state stopped funding efforts and lost the federal matching funds.

robin_reala 2y ago
This one? https://static.wixstatic.com/media/da9022_8ba6b54ceec54bcaacf476b40aeea836~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1394,h_545,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/da9022_8ba6b54ceec54bcaacf476b40aeea836~mv2.jpg https://static.wixstatic.com/media/da9022_8ba6b54ceec54bcaac... It was a temporary installation in Brussels: BADEAU. https://www.pooliscool.org/news/2016/9/22/badeau-the-first-public-open-air-swimming-pool-in-brussels https://www.pooliscool.org/news/2016/9/22/badeau-the-first-p...
- rmason 2y ago
  Thank you. Brussels is one city I have yet to visit in Europe and it looks beautiful.
interludead 2y ago
Badeschiff in Berlin! An iconic floating pool on the Spree River. It was so cool when i visited it!

_uoud 2y ago

Helsinki Finland is pretty good too, take a look at Allas Sea Pool or Löyly, or any of the public saunas, islands and beaches all over the city.

tomw1808 2y ago

Vienna is very swimmable. Not right now, because its cold and rainy, but on a hot summer day thousands of people gather and swim in the Danube every single day. It's amazing, the water is relatively clean, small fishes inside, its a joy for children and adults alike.

jahnu 2y ago
Would be nice to get the canal swimmable too. And enough water in the Wien to even contemplate it :D
- phaer 2y ago
  You can swim there if you want! there's a picture with ppl swimming in Viennas canal (Donaukanal) on the website and there's a whole association around it which claims 300+ members: https://schwimmvereindonaukanal.org/ https://schwimmvereindonaukanal.org/. That being said, Donauinsel is still quite close to the center and I personally prefer the relative quietness and greenery around there to swimming in the canal.
  - jahnu 2y ago
    Ok I didn’t mean that much water! https://bsky.app/profile/jamestheswift.bsky.social/post/3l47hgaus3z2m https://bsky.app/profile/jamestheswift.bsky.social/post/3l47...
  - welder 2y ago
    It's not so safe.. boats and currents. I prefer swimming in the pool that's floating on the canal: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAb0gXufXx https://www.instagram.com/p/CiAb0gXufXx
    - phaer 2y ago
      I suppose it's less safe then a pool, but I don't think there's more current compared to the Danube and there are boats there as well.

yellowapple 2y ago

I was expecting this to be a joke about rising sea levels.

PrivateButts 2y ago

There's a large creek that feeds into lake Erie nearby that we used to hike and swim for several miles until we got to the lake. It was an all day affair, but it was a great time. Our dog at the time was a lab shepherd mix and I think those hikes were some of the best times of his life, getting to explore and swim and run like a goof. I don't ever want to live in a place without good access to large bodies of water, summers wouldn't be the same without it.

interludead 2y ago
It’s interesting how the access to water can make such a difference in how you experience a place

aqme28 2y ago

I always think about how different NYC would be if you could swim in the Hudson and East river. Pollution robs us of so much

macNchz 2y ago
Generally I think it is actually pretty much safe unless it has rained heavily recently. The last time I looked at the data, much of the harbor and Hudson have bacteria counts that are consistently within the safe-for-bathing parameters. The East River is the most polluted, however it also has strong and changing currents that make it less interesting for swimming. Ultimately I think there’s just kind of a general inertia against it—a public perception that the water is gross (as it certainly was for generations), lack of facilities to easily enter the water, and a city government that’s not especially interested in promoting it, probably for liability reasons primarily. Personally I’d love to see the Central Park reservoir made into a swimming place. As I understand it, it’s never actually used as a reservoir anymore and would be perfect for swimming if they built an entry point. Instead they arrest people who get in.

fragmede 2y ago

There was a commute-by-river in Switzerland video that went around! https://www.tiktok.com/@diplo/video/7398259675214646574 https://www.tiktok.com/@diplo/video/7398259675214646574

elric 2y ago

In Belgium, we don't even have swimmable pools. There are too few of them, their opening hours are worthless, going for a swim is stupidly expensive (~8eur), and many pools now require that you show them ID before you're allowed to enter. In all, it's become extremely unpleasant. The results are as depressing as expected: more drownings (especially in the north sea) every year, and kids can barely stay afloat anymore. There's a shortage of lifeguards, and (imo) some serious overregulation. No swimming allowed anywhere unless there are lifeguards on duty. It's a catch-22. People don't swim, so they suck at swimming, so they drown when they do swim, so we get more restrictions, etc.

MaxDorkroom 2y ago
[flagged]
- elric 2y ago
  Are you saying €8 is not too expensive for a swim? That's an insane price. Yes, the ID thing is preventing me from entering. It's not about keeping "undocumented and migrants" out. It's allegedly about keeping troublemakers out, but it's yet another pointless deterrent. There's no need to force everyone to show an ID to enter a pool simply because of a few bad apples. I don't care about your bizarre rhetoric about "how low Europe has sunk", please take your nonsense elsewhere. We certainly don't need razor wire or security guards in pools. Though, perversely, I'm sure it's easier to convince politicians to install those than it is to spend more money on lifeguards.
  - croes 2y ago
    Expensive maybe, but not insane.
- hk__2 2y ago
  For comparison, in Paris it costs €3.5 to enter one of the ~40 public swimming pools. > The idea for showing ID, which happens in other countries too at least for events, is probably to keep the undocumented and migrant ones out. For which reason would you want to prevent undocumented/migrant persons from swimming in a pool?

hk__2 2y ago

Paris is kind of partially swimmable in the Summer: a little portion of the Canal Saint-Martin is open to bathing under supervision during the months of July and August, only during weekends. This is because otherwise the canal is a dangerous place to bath because of the locks. The city plans to open the Seine to bathing by 2025, as well a small lake in the Bois de Vincennes. Things move slowly, but in a good direction.

bounder 2y ago

This is a great initiative. It is weird if you think about it. Why are our waterways in many cities so polluted and dangerous that you can't use them safely as a human(or any animal)? We should take more care about making the environment we live in safe and accessible for everyone. Amsterdam (and many other cities in the Netherlands) have swimmable parts. I'm coming from Groningen myself and there the government made a beach on one of the canals: https://www.visitgroningen.nl/nl/locaties/2159964091/stadsstrand https://www.visitgroningen.nl/nl/locaties/2159964091/stadsst... In Amsterdam, you have the Amsterdam city swim, a yearly event where participants swim through the canals.

tetris11 2y ago
London has many historically swimmable waterways and canals. Unfortunately 14 years of deregulation by allowing companies to dump waste into rivers have rendered much of these beautiful waterways unswimmable.
- hayd 2y ago
  Nonsense. What deregulation? You think rivers in the uk were pristine or even just cleaner 15 years ago? lol, they were not.
  - jodrellblank 2y ago
    Lol, they were. “In its evidence to the committee, the Environment Agency said that in 2021 the environmental performance of water companies was “at its lowest ever level” and the performance of most companies was declining.”” - https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/cleaning-up-failures-in-water-and-sewage-regulation-industry-and-regulators-committee-report/ https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/cleaning-up-failures-in-w... “Sewage spills in the UK hit a record high in 2023, amplifying public anger at the state of the country's dirty rivers and the private companies responsible for the pollution, such as the country's biggest supplier, Thames Water.” - https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/uk-aims-curb-water-pollution-with-tougher-penalties-stronger-regulation-2024-09-05/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/uk-aims-curb-wa...

rob74 2y ago

As someone who lives in Munich, the logo of "Isarlust EV" immediately jumped out at me. Unfortunately it's linked incorrectly - here's the correct URL: https://www.isarlust.org/ https://www.isarlust.org/ (German only). Of course, the task is a bit easier for Munich than for other cities, as it doesn't have a lot of possible pollutants upstream of it. The other side of the medal is that the river is hair-raisingly cold, as it comes pretty directly from the mountains...

ljf 2y ago

I used to regularly kayak in the River Thames (London, UK) - I didn't concentrate one day and forgot to keep the kayak always facing the current, and a small boat wake/wave knocked me over. I swallowed a little water while righting myself - as was burping a horrible metallic taste for days after - but I didn't get ill. Might have been helped that within an hour of falling in, I was at a friends 30th, and the alcohol consumed may have had some preventative effect? /s

dgroshev 2y ago
I'm quite sure that's autosuggestion. I was kayaking on the Thames too (up in Richmond/Teddington), but on marathon/sprint kayaks which are very narrow and unstable, so most people in the kayaking club (hundreds of people!) flipped pretty regularly. We also went to swim from the pontoon in the summer every weekend for years. I can't recall anyone experiencing a persistent metallic taste, and I'm only aware of a single case of food poisoning in the club over the five years I was an active member, and that could be anything. I do remember seeing seals, fishes, eels, kingfishers, herons, and cormorants though. The Thames is a lovely river with bad reputation because of the silt that tides are constantly churning up, and the only problem left (sewer overflows during heavy rain) will be finally gone next year when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tideway_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tideway_Tunnel goes operational.
- ljf 2y ago
  Yeah, I was down Putney Bridge - most people had fallen in at some point, but no one fell ill - but I would not have swim in there out of choice, you could see oil slicks on the water regularly - this was about 2008 I guess.

paganel 2y ago

This has to be a joke seeing how much of a fuckup "swimming in the Seine" for the Olympics has been, but I gather this writer hasn't kept up to date with people commenting on L'Equipe's related posts on social media. Maybe they just can't read French.

hk__2 2y ago
> This has to be a joke seeing how much of a fuckup "swimming in the Seine" for the Olympics has been, but I gather this writer hasn't kept up to date with people commenting on L'Equipe's related posts on social media. Maybe they just can't read French. The Olympics and having the Seine swimmable for everybody are different things; the criteria for athletes and for the general population are not the same. The objective of having the Seine open to swimming again still stands and should be achieved by Summer 2025, as expected. That being said the "swimming in the Seine" during the Olympics and Paralympics has been complicated but I wouldn’t call it a "fuckup"; triathlon athletes are used to these conditions (think about Rio, which had much higher contamination levels, or Sydney which had (risk of) sharks and bacterias), and nobody has been sick after the competitions.

xiwenc 2y ago

Great initiative! As a relatively late swimmer (started learning in my thirties), more people should be able to swim. I was expecting to see a map or list of places/cities to find out whether it’s safe to swim. But it seems that is not part of this initiative?

ghaff 2y ago
Being able to swim at a basic level seems like a fairly basic safety thing but I expect a fair number of people who grew up in places where swimming wasn't commonplace never learned. I went to school someplace that required passing a swim test or at least taking a class but don't know how rigidly that was enforced.

haunter 2y ago

Bern is probably my favorite swimmable city

zweifuss 2y ago
Full ack. Water quality can be very good. Sligtly dangerours, witch makes it exciting.

pirate787 2y ago

This is something I want to share but its platform includes nakedly racist framing: Urban swimmers are stewards responsible for protecting the health of their local waterways, working alongside Mother Earth’s closest carers, such as Indigenous peoples...

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imglorp 2y ago

Thanks to the Clean Water Act, lots of the US is swimmable and clean. But we have a much bigger problem preventing it: lawyers. Lakes in State Parks will likely have swimming banned because people will not be self responsible.

the_real_cher 2y ago

Not too many in Northern Australia I imagine.

vilkkala 2y ago

It takes less than a minute to walk calmly from my front door in an apartment complex to a public beach in Tampere, Finland. In my neighbourhood, you just see random people walking on the sidewalk in bathrobes on their way to the beach or back. It's 15 minutes walk from the city center.

dade_ 2y ago

In Toronto, we have a serious problem with out old combined sewage system and the lack of transparency from all levels of government on the reality of the water quality. I appreciate the work by Swim Drink Fish: The name Swim Drink Fish comes from signs that are all too often found on shorelines around Canada: no swimming, no fishing, and no drinking. Our organisation’s goal is simple: restore the health of local waters so that every last one of those signs is removed. We strive for a world where every watershed can be enjoyed by the communities, doing what they love. https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca/ https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca/

greenie_beans 2y ago

my first thought was, oh weird, swimming to commute?

j_m_b 2y ago

In the US, we've essentially banned swimming outside of a few lifeguard-monitored zones. There are no swimming signs everywhere and in places you wouldn't otherwise think should be banned, such as public lakes or beaches. People still do swim in these areas, but I remember a squad of cop cars showing up at Lake Artemesia near UMD because a woman was gasp swimming in the lake.

ghaff 2y ago
I guess that hasn't been my experience. I see people swimming all the time in locations where there aren't lifeguards and other safety measures.
rascul 2y ago
In the US, I find swimming holes all over the place without lifeguards and without swimming restrictions. I guess it depends on the area.

sexy_seedbox 2y ago

Hong Kong is also a very swimmable city, lots of awesome beaches.

blang 2y ago

Seattle is swimmable. Lake Washington, Green Lake (both fresh water), and the Puget Sound (salt water) are swimmable in city limits. I swim in lake Washington 3 times a week May - October. As in another comment here about Copenhagen, you cannot swim after hard rain because of how the sewer systems were designed. Seattle is famous for rain, but not the type of rain that will cause a spill over event often. The county government also tests the water for bacteria and algae and reports the findings on their website and closures are signed at access points. https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/parks-recreation/king-county-parks/water-recreation/swimming-beach-bacteria-temperature https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dnrp/nature-recreation/parks-... Also while there is a lot of private ownership of water access, there are 9 city beaches and something called street ends, which are public right of ways if a street ends at water, I swim from these all the time. https://www.streetends.org/about https://www.streetends.org/about

tootie 2y ago

All things being equal having clean waterways is better than hsn dirty ones but this doesn't really seem like a priority. Plenty of cities just don't have the climate or geography to make this possible and plenty of people can't or don't swim. Arguably NYC is very swimmable since it's mostly on islands but the waterways are fairly rough and very wide and result it at least a few drownings every year.