NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — After being canceled for the first time in 31 years following a threat over overflow sewage into the New Bedford Harbor due to recent heavy rainfall, organizers say the annual Buzzards Bay Swim will not be rescheduled.
Representatives with the Buzzards Bay Coalition say they did not have time to test the bacteria levels in the water before the swim, and that canceling the event was the best way to ensure the health and safety of those involved.
“To have bacteria contamination from a sewer overflow be the reason why the swimmers could not celebrate their accomplishments was really disappointing,” said Korrin Petersen, Vice President of Clean Water Advocacy of the Buzzards Bay Coalition.
Over three hundred swimmers worked to raise $200,000 for the annual open water swim that starts in New Bedford and ends in Fairhaven.
Read more at wpri.com.
