Swimming Urban Rivers
Host Thomas Hynes speaks with Laura Reinsborough of Ottawa Riverkeeper about the Ottawa River’s swimmability and watershed protection. Reinsborough outlines her background in environmental studies, founding an urban fruit tree nonprofit in Toronto, and leading Food for All New Brunswick. She describes the Ottawa River as a 1,200+ km river with a vast drainage basin, the largest tributary to the St. Lawrence within the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence freshwater system, and notes it runs through unceded Anishnabe Algonquin territory across Ontario and Quebec. Ottawa Riverkeeper began in 2001 in response to untreated sewage from combined sewer overflows across a fragmented watershed of over 300 municipalities. She reports that the City of Ottawa’s overflows have been reduced by over 90% through transparency, monitoring (including real-time public maps and email notifications), and major infrastructure, including a sewage storage tunnel completed in 2021.
Despite improved water quality, public perception lags; a 2020 survey found most believed the river unsafe. Reinsborough says people do swim (herself included), and urban beaches test safe about 85% of the time, with results aggregated on Swim Guide and advice to wait 24–48 hours after heavy rain. She discusses the Swimmable Cities Alliance and swimming as human “rewilding.” Additional priorities include road salt, 85+ fish species, American eel decline due to 50+ dams, PFAS and microplastics, and nuclear waste concerns. She also describes River School (launched 2023 at River House), reaching about 4,000 students with hands-on watershed, biodiversity, and water-quality education, including a birchbark canoe module.
Despite improved water quality, public perception lags; a 2020 survey found most believed the river unsafe. Reinsborough says people do swim (herself included), and urban beaches test safe about 85% of the time, with results aggregated on Swim Guide and advice to wait 24–48 hours after heavy rain. She discusses the Swimmable Cities Alliance and swimming as human “rewilding.” Additional priorities include road salt, 85+ fish species, American eel decline due to 50+ dams, PFAS and microplastics, and nuclear waste concerns. She also describes River School (launched 2023 at River House), reaching about 4,000 students with hands-on watershed, biodiversity, and water-quality education, including a birchbark canoe module.
Creators and Guests
Host
Thomas Hynes
Thomas Hynes is the Communications and Marketing Manager for Waterkeeper Alliance. In addition to podcast hosting and production duties, he manages and writes all sorts of editorial content for the organization, including blogs, feature articles, advocacy alerts, email campaigns, social media content, and more. Thomas grew up on the Long Island Sound in Connecticut and now makes his home two blocks from the East River in Brooklyn, New York. He primarily commutes across the river to the Waterkeeper Alliance office via ferry boat. Thomas was drawn to environmental work in order to take an active role in the fight against climate change and help bring justice to the rotten polluters who seek to ruin our shared resources. Before working at Waterkeeper Alliance, Thomas wrote a nonfiction book about the history of wildlife in New York City. "Wild City" also highlights the power and success of the Clean Water Act, and other environmental regulations, in leading an unlikely ecological turnaround. In his spare time, Thomas photographs the many tugboats traversing the city’s various waterways. Thomas lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their son. They can be found most weekends walking or biking along the East River.
Guest
Laura Reinsborough
Laura Reinsborough is the Ottawa Riverkeeper. She has worked in gardens, galleries, and along river banks to deliver positive environmental and social change. She holds a Magisteriate in Environmental Studies (York University; Toronto, Canada) specialized in environmental education and community arts. At the age of 25, Laura founded Toronto’s Not Far From The Tree, an award-winning charitable initiative to pick fruit growing in backyards and transform it into a shared public good. Later, at the helm of Food For All New Brunswick, she built a robust network to activate and amplify food security. She is a TEDx speaker, a recipient of the Vital People Award, the Women of the Earth Award, the Gaia Environmental Award, and the King’s Coronation Medal, and she was named an Agent of Change by the Centre for Social Innovation. Laura grew up canoeing on the lake in her backyard, swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, and mudsliding on the flats of the Bay of Fundy. She speaks four languages and loves to cross-country ski.
Producer
Lori Harrison
Lori Harrison is the Communications and Marketing Director for Waterkeeper Alliance. She oversees multi-faceted communications and marketing activities to advance the organization’s mission of protecting our right to clean water in communities around the world. With 25 years of experience in strategic water communications and mission-based work, Lori is an award-winning writer and content creator. Her expertise lies in translating complex concepts into relatable ideas, fostering engagement, and promoting sustainable practices and solutions. Her work not only aims to protect clean water, public health, and the environment but also focuses on "connecting the disconnect" between people and this essential resource. Before joining Waterkeeper Alliance, Lori had a background in corporate marketing for professional sports and held various communications and creative positions with a non-profit educational organization for global water professionals. Notable achievements include creating the WATER'S WORTH IT® grassroots awareness campaign and writing the award-winning children's book, “Why Water's Worth It,” designed to educate and inspire the next generation of water protectors. Lori lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children.
