Good news: Baltimore’s harbor health hasn’t changed much.
Not-so-good news: Baltimore’s harbor health hasn’t changed much.
The waterway’s ecosystem health earned an overall C grade in the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore’s annual Healthy Harbor Report Card, which was released Friday.
“The data show that Baltimore’s Harbor is no longer dismissed as dead water,” said Adam Lindquist, vice president of Waterfront Partnership, in a statement. “We are seeing river otters return, oysters thrive and swimmers reclaim the water through events like Harbor Splash. At the same time, the ongoing pistachio tide is a reminder that our ecosystem remains fragile. This report card is about both celebrating progress and facing the work still ahead.”
The moderate score demonstrates the improvements that made the harbor safe for swimming have continued. But it also highlights advocates’ frustrations with feeling “stuck.”
“Progress has been held back by excessive nutrient pollution coming from both local sources like stormwater runoff and the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant as well as from the larger Chesapeake Bay,” the report card notes.
Improving the harbor’s ecological health further will require “investing in sewer repairs, treatment plant upgrades, and green infrastructure, while reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and waste incineration,” the report added.
Residents can help by abstaining from commercial fertilizer that causes nitrogen to wash into waterways, growing native plants to filter nutrients, putting pipe-blocking kitchen grease in the trash instead of down the sink, picking up their dog’s waste, and properly disposing of trash instead of littering.
Ecosystem health showed improvements in some indicators, while others saw declines.
Dissolved oxygen levels earned an A, the indicator’s highest score ever. The Waterfront Partnership attributes the improvement to Baltimore’s wastewater treatment system upgrades and the reduction of nutrient pollution from local and regional sources.
However, levels of chlorophyll a slid to a D grade. Chlorophyll a is an indicator of algae blooms, which are linked to the “pistachio tides” and fish kills that Baltimore saw this year.
The Waterfront Partnership reiterated that the harbor is conditionally safe for swimming, such as during officially supervised events and 48 hours after a storm.
The nonprofit attempted twice to hold its second annual Harbor Splash public swim, but had to cancel the event both times due to storms creating runoff that carries pollutants into the harbor.
Still, the percentage of water samples that met Maryland’s water recreation standard have continued to increase.
While the percentage of passing water samples held relatively steady at most harbor sites, the Jones Falls River Mouth site saw a considerable decline. About 60% of samples taken at that site in 2024 passed Maryland standards, compared to about 70% in 2023.
By contrast, 86% of samples collected at the Fells Point site passed Maryland standards.
As the harbor recreational health is generally trending upwards, the Waterfront Partnership is looking for other ways to expand harbor recreation beyond the Harbor Splash.
