Mayor Adrian Fenty wants to swim the Potomac, and this week he got the D.C. Council’s approval. Council Member Mary Cheh, D-Ward 3, introduced the emergency bill Tuesday at Fenty’s behest. It allows a one-day exemption to a District law banning swimming in the river so The Nation’s Triathlon can go forward.

Fenty, a marathon runner, is one of about 500 people registered for the race, scheduled for Sept. 29, Cheh said. The race involves swim, bike and run segments.

A similar event was scheduled last year, but the swim portion was nixed when the health department determined the Potomac was too dirty. That race would have been the District’s first triathlon.

Cheh said the city’s environment department will be responsible for testing this year. It will be done up to the day of the race, she said.

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The legislation was introduced as an emergency because the council will recess between Sunday and mid-September and there would not be enough time for Fenty to seek the one-day exemption, Cheh said.

Though the bill passed unanimously, some council members scoffed at the notion that the notoriously polluted river could be considered clean enough to swim.

“It never entered my mind that anyone would swim in the Potomac,” said Council Member Jim Graham, D-Ward 1.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com