General Hazards

Environmental factors are also perceived to be inhibiting conditions for swimming. I have heard from a number of people that the Monongahela River has a treacherous current with deadly whirlpools and chemical pollution that is off the charts. One man I spoke to who was fishing just bellow the Highland Park dam up to his knees in water said he would not swim because of the current. Actually the three rivers have about the same conditions, which on a calm day is quiet and refreshing.

The current stays slow for the majority of the summer and fall. Melting snows and occasional floods bring the water levels and current up. When the water level rises the river can be seen moving fast. Debris is usually scarce but it often accompanies floods. Flood stage for Allegheny County is 25 feet (the 10th street bypass is flooded at 22 feet) but swimming should be safe under 18 feet when the water is moving at around 1 mph or 1300 cfs4.
Probably the most dangerous environmental factor is temperature. When the water is under 50 degrees humans have around 2 minutes until they get hypothermia. Most people will know not to go into very cold water but if by any chance someone were to fall in it could be difficult to get out.

This would be the case in areas like our new Northshore Stadium park that has vertical flood walls over 5 feet above the water line. Many of the older structures have stairs or ladders up but not all of these are still intact. The larger of these floodwalls happen to make great cliff jumping spots.

Barges and drunken speed boaters are another concern people have with swimming in the rivers. Unless you are swimming in the middle of the river, are near a barge-loading site or marina boats will not be able to get close to you. On windy or low visibility days a boater will be less likely to see a swimmer. You can make yourself more visible by wearing bright colors and florescent swim cap. Summer months will have the most boat traffic but certain times and locations will barely have boat traffic year round. Swimmers do not often go much more than 20 ft out from shore, which is usually closer to the shore than motorboats like to be. You can also see the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission water safety handbook for more water safety and regulations.

More substantial than boats is broken glass, trash and industrial debris. Actually the only river injury that I can remember was caused by broken glass. The place I was walking used to be an old dump and had I taken more care I would have either worn shoes or avoided the area.