In the news 04/20/2010

From Dallas News, headline reads

Whitewater park for kayakers planned on Trinity River in Dallas despite water quality concerns

Click here for the article while it lasts

Um, I don't know if you are familiar with what's called the Trinity River within the DFW city limits but it's not pretty. It's not a body of water I would willingly get into. I might even take death by execution-style versus getting in and submerging my head into the Trinity. This isn't the Holy Trinity. This is the Holy-Shit-That-Smells-Unsafe Trinity!

Some quotes from the article:

The Trinity River, which often seems like a dirty drainage canal...

The state has long deemed Dallas' stretch of the Trinity unsuitable for activities such as swimming, diving and water-skiing because of elevated bacteria levels that signal the presence of animal waste and human sewage.

And many paddling enthusiasts say they aren't worried.

But it is not those chemicals in the sediment that are likely to pose a hazard to kayakers; it is fecal matter that flows in from storm-water runoff.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't go in, but you should have caution...You should be careful. Don't be drinking a lot of it. When you get out of it, make sure you wash your hands before you start eating.

There is NO amount of justification for getting into the Trinity water. Unlike the mentioned bodies of water compared to, the Trinity has a lot of industrial runoff from many places like manufacturing and even residential.

This "river" has all kinds of shit in it: tires, grocery carts, all kinds of trash, maybe even a few bodies. It is not at all inviting and even if they did make it so, I still would not jump in.

A few years or so back there were talks of amoebas and parasites in the water. Deformed and poisoned fish. Even the article says there are industrial compounds in the water "making fish unsafe to eat." If the fist are tainted (and sea life is pretty resilient) what the hell do you think is going to happen to kayakers, especially after prolonged exposure.

Oh well, you psychos that want to get diseased, you drop right in there. I won't even use the viewing area. Why would I, to have a place to sit and smell the awful aroma from the Bog of Eternal Stench? Blah!