Scullers Smell Sewage on the Charles' Banks

City officials said yesterday they found no evidence of raw sewage under the Anderson Bridge, despite comments by rowers that a foul odor emanates from the area.

A visual inspection of the waters under the bridge on Monday revealed a cloudy substance rising to the surface along a small concrete wall on the Cambridge bank of the Charles River, just west of the bridge. The substance extended about 30 feet from the bank and was visible until it passed under the bridge, about 40 feet down-river.

David A. Haley, the commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said that although no one had officially complained about a sewage problem, he had sent an inspector to the river in response to a reporter's inquiry.

Haley said that his inspector had found nothing unusual and cited oil from passing motorboats as a possible cause of any visible pollutant. "They saw nothing, smelled nothing," he said.

Superintendent of Sewers Jerry F. Lucey inspected the area this week and likewise said he found no trace of sewage.

The concrete and red-brick Anderson Bridge is located just up river from Weld Boathouse, home of Harvard's women's crew teams.

Elizabeth H. O'Leary, the varsity crew coach, said that the river has always smelled. "Sometimes if there's been a lot of rain, you can notice it more. It's no worse than it's always been," she said.

Members of the crew team also said they were aware of a persistent odor. "There's been a pretty bad stench for as long as I can remember," said Meg G. Brooks, '93, co-captain of the women's team. "Some days are worse than others."

Neither O'Leary nor Brooks said they remembered seeing any sewage in the vicinity of the bridge.

As for any risks posed by polluted waters, O'Leary said that the rowers are safe. "I wouldn't go swimming in it," she said. "But rowing in it certainly isn't a health threat."