Baltimore's waterways are showing mixed results in the latest ecological health report card, according to data from Blue Water Baltimore.
Since 2013, the Inner Harbor, Patapsco River and Gwynns Falls have shown declining ecological health. Only the Jones Falls region shows slight improvement.
The biggest concerns are excessive algae and pollution from human activities washing into waterways when it rains.
Alice Volpita with Blue Water Baltimore says despite the declines, there are positives.
"There are certain measurements of water health like water clarity, turbidity, things like that, that are actually getting better over time. So nitrogen levels are also improving in our streams and in our harbor, which is great news, and that means that some of the things that we're doing on land are probably working to make water quality healthier in our receiving waterways," Volpita said.
The group recommends more green infrastructure, better sewer funding, continued monitoring, and stronger clean water laws to improve problems seen in their report.
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