Matt Long squinted skeptically at the Willamette River and fidgeted with the lime green swim cap he'd just received. Bold letters on the cap spell "River Hugger Swim Team."

"I'm worried they'll need a special boat to keep me safe," he said. "That, and how cold the water is."

Minutes later, Long and about 20 others in the green caps were gliding (or flailing or bobbing) across the Willamette.

This swim team is the brainchild of Willie Levenson, head of the Human Access Project, and the mission is to convince Portlanders the Willamette River is safe for swimming.

Levenson moved to Portland in 1997 after spending nearly a decade in cities in Idaho and Virginia that "love their river," he said. He was frustrated when, upon arrival in the City of Roses, locals told him a dip in the Willamette might kill him.

Nearly two decades later, Levenson leads an advocacy group to show Portlanders things have changed. The River Huggers Swim Team, which swims back and forth across the Willamette three times a week, is just one way to spread the word. (The Big Float is another.)

The river is safe for swimming most times of the year, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. But many Portlanders still fear bacterial contamination from sewer overflows that wreaked havoc on the river before the Big Pipe alleviated pressure on the wastewater system.

River Hugger Swim Team

What:

Swim back and forth across the Willamette River

Why:

To raise awareness that the river is safe for swimming

When:

The group meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 a.m. in the parking lot south of Cooper's Coffee (1515 SE Water Ave.)

For more information, see the

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People still remember horror stories about the river's water quality decades ago, said Peter Reitan after Wednesday morning's swim. People listen to stories, he said, not government reports.

"That's what the River Huggers are doing—they're out here making new stories," he said.

The 32-year-old started swimming in the Willamette shortly after he and his wife moved into a sailboat along the Sellwood neighborhood's riverfront in 2008.

"When you live on a 29-foot sailboat and your only AC is a box fan, getting in the river takes on a new perspective," he said, laughing.

Elaine Rybak has participated in almost all of the tri-weekly swims. She's been a swimmer for decades, she said, and hates looking at the black line on the bottom of a swimming pool.

A half-mile swim back and forth across the river is "an awesome way to start the day," she said. The swim takes about 45 minutes.

As for Long, the first-time swimmer: he did just fine.

"I've never swam in open water before," he said. "But it's 7:30 a.m. and I feel great."

-- Melissa Binder