BALTIMORE — Baltimore's 2025 Harbor Splash was canceled for the second time this year on Saturday after being postponed in June, disappointing 200 would-be participants who were eager to take a dip in the harbor.
"It was heartbreaking," said Allison Blood, senior manager of environmental projects and advocacy for the Waterfront Partnership.
The decision to cancel Saturday's event came down to science and safety, according to organizers.
Will the Harbor Splash actually happen? Hear how officials plan to approach scheduling the event
"We can tie when we see the elevated bacteria levels with the amount of rain that's fallen," Blood said. "That's how we know this tenth-of-an-inch threshold means that water's going to start flowing, and bacteria levels in the harbor are going to start to be impacted."
READ MORE: Harbor Splash is cancelled for the second time and will not happen in 2025
Experts monitor water quality not just in the harbor itself, but throughout the entire watershed.
After two consecutive cancellations, organizers are considering a different approach to scheduling future events, Blood explained.
"I think we'll have to start thinking about monitoring the weather for good times to swim, versus scheduling the swim and hoping the weather cooperates with us. Looking for about three days in a row of no rain, four days would be even better, and clear skies," Blood told WMAR-2 News.
The Waterfront Partnership notes that rain creates complications for urban swimming events everywhere, not just in Baltimore.
"Rainfall washes pollutants off streets, rooftops, and other hard surfaces into local waterways. These pollutants temporarily impact water quality, making swimming unsafe for up to 48 hours after a storm," wrote Waterfront Partnership Vice President Adam Lindquist in a Saturday blog post.
"Earlier this year, the Maryland Freedom Swim across the Choptank River was also canceled for the same reason," he added.
Despite the setbacks, Blood emphasized the significant progress made in improving the harbor's water quality.
"We've made tremendous progress. We have seen bacteria scores in the harbor improve by 35 percent. So a huge increase thanks to infrastructure repairs to our sewer system and wastewater treatment facilities," Blood said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
