SAN FRANCISCO—A group of 26 swimmers participated in a historic 11-mile swim across The Dead Sea to bring attention to the “environmental degradation” of the waters. The swimmers’ journey began in Jordan and ended in Israel—totaling 7 hours of swimming. Amongst the league of swimmers was New Zealand born and San Francisco resident, Kim Chambers, 39.

The Dead Sea is the world’s saltiest body of water—containing 25 percent solid concentrates compared to the ocean with 4 to 6 percent, according to encyclopedia.com. In order to combat against salty waters, the swimmers were equipped with special masks and snorkels. “We did something that no one thought we could do,” says Chambers in a Travel&Leisure article.

The Tamar Regional Council (local government) and the EcoPeace Middle East(non-governmental environmental group) sponsored the swim to shed light on the decreasing waters of the Dead Sea. The groups state that the Dead Sea’s surface area has receded by a third within the past 30 years and that its radius has decreased at nearly 3 feet per year.

A research article written by Auspices of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Samuel Wilner states, “the case of saving the Dead Sea has not yet been lost. The potential options to mitigate this catastrophe have been studied in the past decades, but so far no solution has been implemented.”

In September, Chambers swam a marathon from Sacramento to Tiburon to raise funds for a veteran’s charity. She did not complete the 90-mile race—which would have made her the first person ever to complete it. She continued swimming for 24 hours, the longest swim of her life before stopping.