As Harborplace redevelopment plans buoy hopes for more activity along Baltimore’s waterfront, advocates say the city’s harbor is healthy enough for swimming and fishing.
The Waterfront Partnership launched its Healthy Harbor Initiative in 2010, aiming to make Baltimore’s harbor swimmable and fishable again. The initiative releases an annual Healthy Harbor Report Card to track progress toward that goal, including this year’s report which shows the harbor’s water quality is safe for swimming on most dry-weather days.
Adam Lindquist, vice president of the Healthy Harbor Initiative, said he has been looking forward to Thursday’s announcement ever since he took on his role 13 years ago.
“Other than getting married or having a child, it’s probably the next most anticipated day in my life,” he said.
Baltimore City has invested more than $1 billion in repairing its sewer and wastewater infrastructure, which has resulted in a 97% reduction in sewage overflows in the harbor since 2018.
Baltimore’s four trash wheels, which the Health Harbor Initiative oversees, also collect about 450 tons of trash per year. The Waterfront Partnership has used that data to advocate for legislation aimed at keeping trash out of the harbor in the first place, like Maryland’s ban on single-use foam containers, and Baltimore City and Baltimore County’s bans on single-use plastic bags.
Efforts like these have created a more hospitable environment for wildlife, with menhaden fish, diamondback terrapin turtles, dolphins, and other aquatic life all having been spotted in the harbor.
But don’t go diving in just yet. Stormwater runoff still carries pollutants into the water, so residents should avoid contact with waterways for at least 48 hours after rain. And sediment on the harbor’s bottom contains legacy pollutants, so swimming should only take place in waters deep enough to prevent stirring up that polluted sediment.
Boat traffic also poses a safety risk, so swimming should only take place during coordinated events – like the “Harbor Splash” that the Waterfront Partnership is planning in 2024.
“We’re not telling people that anybody should jump in the harbor anywhere, anytime,” Lindquist said. “What we’re saying is we’ve reached a tipping point where the water is clean enough for us to start hosting swimming related events.”
The date of the “Harbor Splash” has not yet been announced, but it will require registration for limited spots. Swimmers must be age 18 or older and will have to wear a personal flotation device.
The public swim event will likely be the first to take place in the harbor in more than 40 years. The last such event on record is believed to be a Polar Bear Plunge in January 1981, Lindquist said.
“I know the harbor is cleaner today than it was in 1981,” he added.
In September, Lindquist and a small group of other Healthy Harbor staff and partners jumped into the warm and salty waters of the harbor during a “test swim” around Bond Street Wharf.
“There was a lot of joy for people who had been working on this issue for over a decade to finally take the plunge,” he said. “There was just that connection that you feel to nature. When you swim, you become a fish, you become an aquatic creature…. It inspires you to want to do more to clean up this ecosystem and to make it more accessible.”
Lindquist acknowledges that many people will be skeptical about taking the plunge themselves, but he hopes next year’s event will demonstrate the yearslong improvements to the harbor’s health.
“I think we know that the stigma around swimming in the harbor is going to be as hard to overcome as the pollution issues themselves,” he said. “And I think people really need to reassess their beliefs about the Baltimore Harbor. What we’re hoping will happen through this announcement, and through the ultimate swimming event next year, is that people stop and say ‘Wait a minute, maybe I don’t know what the truth is about the Baltimore Harbor.’”
The work is not over either, Lindquist said. The Waterfront Partnership will continue its routine monitoring to ensure the city’s sewer system is functioning properly. And green infrastructure like trees and rain gardens could help prevent pollutants from entering the harbor.
Harborplace, which plans to implement a wave pool and a floating promenade on the water, could help residents better connect with the ecosystem, Lindquist said.
“Having the Chesapeake Bay on our doorstep is so valuable to the residents of Baltimore City, who live in an urban environment and don’t get a lot of opportunities to directly interact with the natural world…. Having a clean Baltimore Harbor opens the door to being able to have that nature-based experience right here in Baltimore City,” he said.
