Man Swims through 'Fetid Corpse of Water' as Stunt for Earth Day

Has Christopher Swain gone off the deep end?

That's what lots of people are asking about the daredevil who is taking a swim in one of the filthiest waterways in America.

It's the infamous Gowanus Canal in New York City, described as "a fetid corpse of water" after decades of industrial dumping.

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Back in the day, chemical waste and even raw sewage used to flow unobstructed into the canal. It's still on the EPA's most-contaminated list.

To mark Earth Day, environmental activist Christopher Swain announced he plan to swim the entire two-mile length of the canal, defying a warning from the Feds.

The EPA actually sent swain a personal Twitter message, saying: "We strongly advise against swimming in the Gowanus Canal."

The EPA strongly advises AGAINST swimming in the #Gowanus Canal. Please see our fact sheet: http://t.co/IzCuoPHGrW @Brooklyn_Paper

- US EPA - NJ,NY,PR,VI (@EPAregion2) April 21, 2015

He tweeted back simply, "Thank you!"

While he was swimming in the canal, he shouted to his supporters "It's really bad!"

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After the swim, Swain tweeted a thank you message to the NYPD, the media, and the people of Brooklyn.

Many #thanks to the people of #Brooklyn, the media, and the #NYPD for supporting my #gowanusswim for clean #water pic.twitter.com/WwgJOApUAB

- Christopher Swain (@SwimWithSwain) April 23, 2015

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