Charles River Receives Strong Water Quality Grade

BOSTON (CBS) – The "dirty water" Bostonians love so much isn't dirty after all, according to annual testing.

The Environmental Protection Agency released its grade for the Charles River on Wednesday, giving the once polluted river a B+ mark.

"We are grading the Charles this year with a B+ which is very close to their highest grade of an A- which was just two years ago," said Curt Spaulding, the regional administrator for the EPA.

The EPA began giving the river an annual grade 21 years ago.

A rating of B+ means the river is suitable for swimming about 70 percent of the time, Spaulding said.

Water quality improved significantly after millions of dollars was spent to divert sewage and other pollutants.

Spaulding said upcoming work straightening out the storm drain system will lead to an even cleaner Charles River and Boston Harbor.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports