No.
Augusta prohibits swimming within the Kennebec River alongside or adjoining to city-owned property with out written permission from the harbormaster.
The City Council added that exception in June 2022 so the harbormaster might authorize swimming for occasions, akin to an Ironman triathlon. Previously, the ban was outright.
The city’s online code incorrectly omits the exception and simply says swimming is prohibited. City spokesperson Haley Gauvin mentioned the efficient ordinance nonetheless contains the permission language, and that the net code is outdated.
The Kennebec had severe pollution when Augusta adopted the ban. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection says untreated waste precipitated oxygen depletion and fish kills into the late Nineteen Seventies.
Today, the river by means of Augusta is “Class B,” which means state requirements designate it as suitable for recreation in and on the water. Still, native officers have cited robust currents as a security motive to maintain the partial ban.
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