Water quality alerts that would have impacted this weekend’s Head of the Charles Regatta were lifted on Thursday.
Parts of the Charles River have been under a health advisory for a cyanobacteria algae bloom for weeks — the blue-green algae can sicken people and pets.
But on Thursday, the Boston Public Health Commission lifted the advisories for Magazine Beach and the Boston University DeWolfe Boathouse. The agency shared a map showing the areas affected by the advisory, which are downstream of the races’ starting line and course.
“This change means the Head Of The Charles Regatta will not be impacted by the health advisory,” the update said.
Mayor Michelle Wu said earlier Thursday that the city would be keeping tabs on the situation but she anticipated the event would go off smoothly.
“The organization and the city are going to follow all state guidance and constantly testing and ensuring that the water quality won’t be an issue here,” she said.
Earlier in the week, concern was low for Ted Benford, executive director of Community Rowing Inc., which has several crews competing in the regatta.
“Those concerns have been mitigated by the fact that the activities on the water really don’t expose people in a way that would generally cause them any harm,” he said, while noting that rowers are encouraged to make decisions that are best for them when it comes to getting in the water.
This year marks the regatta’s 60th anniversary with the biggest field yet. Nearly 12,000 athletes will descend on the Charles River, representing 45 states and 26 countries.
The event kicks off on Friday at 7:45 a.m., and the final race is scheduled for 4:19 p.m. on Sunday.