BALTMORE — The Inner Harbor is clean enough to swim in and the Waterfront Partnership wants to celebrate the milestone with a splash.
More than a decade after it launched the Healthy Harbor Initiative in 2010 the water in Baltimore's Inner Harbor is 'swimmable.'
To celebrate the milestone, the Waterfront Partnership wants you to take the plunge and participate in the "Harbor Splash."
"We know our work is far from over, but we must start swimming. It’s a commitment to keep working to ensure that our ecosystem thrives and that swimming in the harbor becomes a routine occurrence,” says Michael Hankin, president and CEO of Brown Advisory and chairman of Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative. “
125 people ages 18 and older can sign up for the swimming event on Sunday, June 23.
A group of key partners and elected officials, including Mayor Brandon Scott and Comptroller Brooke Lierman, will start the event with a ceremonial jump at 9:20 a.m. from a floating dock at Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point.
Routine monitoring found the water in the Harbor meets Maryland’s standard for swimming on dry weather days, there are still important factors like boat traffic, polluted sediment and wet weather to consider.
Right now, it is recommended that swimming in the Harbor only take place during scheduled events like “Harbor Splash.”
In 2014, Waterfront Partnership installed Mr. Trash Wheel, a first-of-its-kind technology to remove trash from rivers. It was so successful several family members were created and placed at various locations to clean up even more of the Harbor.
In 2017, Baltimore City pledged to invest over $1 billion in sewer infrastructure repairs and upgrades. Most recently, legislators passed critical environmental legislation and scientists have conducted extensive water monitoring.
According to a release from the Waterfront Partnership, sanitary sewer overflows have been reduced by 76% over the last five years, five million pounds of litter have been removed from the water and many single-use plastics have been banned.
You can't register for “Harbor Splash” until Wednesday, May 29, but you can sign up for the Waterfront Partnerships newsletter and get notified here.
