New York | A British man swims 500 km to warn of water pollution

(New York) A British endurance swimmer and “UN godfather for the oceans” completed a 500 km swim in the Hudson River in New York on Wednesday to raise awareness about water pollution, a few days before the General Assembly United Nations.

“Fifty years ago, this was one of the most polluted rivers on the planet,” said Lewis Pugh, a 53-year-old athlete, arriving at Battery Park, on the southern tip of Manhattan where the Hudson River, the East River and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

“We must have clean and healthy rivers,” said the head of the foundation that bears his name, welcoming the fact that the Hudson has been decontaminated since the 1970s. This allowed him to swim there from its source, in the Aridonracks Mountains, to its mouth in the bay of New York City: 500 km of descent without assistance for 32 days, with obviously breaks to eat and sleep at night.

His feat, the fifty-year-old hopes, will “inspire” others to raise awareness about the depollution of rivers.

Other environmental activists – and accomplished sportsmen – “will be able to say to themselves ‘if we did it for the Hudson, we can do it for our watercourse and save it,’” Lewis Pugh explained to the press. He said that before its decontamination the mythical New York river changed color daily depending on who was dumped into it by industries.

The Briton, who also has South African nationality, has already swum in the waters of Antarctica, the North Pole and the Red Sea to alert global public opinion to the need to preserve rivers, seas and oceans of the planet.

Lewis Pugh’s exploit ended before the start next week of the annual UN General Assembly during which the international treaty to protect the high seas will be opened for signature by member states. This “historic” agreement has was adopted last June.

Mr. Pugh, thanks to his “commitment and passion for the oceans […] was named sponsor of the United Nations for the oceans in 2013,” boasts its website.