baltimore inner harbor water quality

As a rule of thumb, it's not safe to swim in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Bacteria in samples from around Fort McHenry and Ferry Bar Park on the Middle Branch fell within a legal limit for safe water contact, but exceeded it by the Science Center, the World Trade Center and the Canton Waterfront Park.At the mouth of the Jones Falls, between Pier Six and the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, they exceeded it by a factor of nearly 17.Kathy DeFrancesco, captain of the Canton Kayak Club, said she sometimes cancels large club excursions on the harbor if she hears about a bad case of sewage pollution. Nitrogen and phosphorus contained in sewage and other pollution fertilizes blooms of algae that create a surplus of oxygen while they’re alive, but create uninhabitable dead zones devoid of the gas when they die and decompose.Back at Blue Water’s offices in Remington, Volpitta mixed the harbor samples with a reagent used to reveal enterococcus bacteria and poured them into trays similar to ice cube trays. But as the city Department of Public Works carries out more than $1 billion in sewer upgrade projects required under an agreement with federal and state environmental regulators, the contamination is expected to decline in the coming years.On a recent morning after a rainstorm, the Blue Water scientists set out on the harbor for their testing.

At each of eight locations from the Canton waterfront to the Maryland Science Center, she poured samples into smaller plastic bottles from a spigot at the end of the tube.Alice Volpitta, Blue Water's lead water quality scientist, took readings of other water quality measures using another tube-shaped device known as a Hydrolab.

Heavy rain inundates the pipes, causing overflows of millions of gallons of stormwater laced with sewage. Even a splash could make you sick. But as the city Department of Public Works carries out more than $1 billion in sewer upgrade projects required under an agreement with federal and state environmental regulators, the contamination is expected to decline in the coming years.On a recent morning after a rainstorm, the Blue Water scientists set out on the harbor for their testing.

The more squares that glow fluorescent — a sign that enterococcus is present — the more foul the sample likely is.“Sometimes it’s easier to count how many aren’t fluorescing,” she said.Blue Water spent $10,000 on its testing technology, using donations from benefactors including the Jim and Patty Rouse Charitable Foundation, Haren said. But the measurements also could serve to actually encourage recreation on the water.Organizations like the Baltimore Sailing Center already are checking the data so they can advise boaters on days even incidental contact with the water is unwise. When she learned about Blue Water Baltimore's new testing and website, she said she planned to share it with kayak club members.Proctor, of the sailing center, checked the Howsthewaterhon.org website June 21. Inner Harbor. Sensors protruding from one end of it detect parameters including temperature, pH and oxygen content. Blue Water Baltimore maintains 49 testing stations around the Inner Harbor and Jones Falls that are designed to monitor water quality.

Even a splash could make you sick.But a new water quality tool could show that some times are safer than others for fishing, kayaking or dragon boat racing.For a decade now, local water quality advocates have been collecting samples from around the Patapsco River and sending them out for bacterial testing. Levels exceeding 151 units of the bacteria per 100 milliliters of fresh water are unsafe for human recreation, according to Maryland’s water quality standards.

An algal bloom followed by a thermal inversion is changing the way the harbor looks and smells, and could potentially cause a fish die-off. The more squares that glow fluorescent — a sign that enterococcus is present — the more foul the sample likely is.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A plume of reddish water in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Monday afternoon was caused by a water main break, officials said.

"Sewage enters the harbor through cracks and breaks in the city's century-old waste disposal system. The results did not surprise Eliza Smith Steinmeier who, as the Baltimore Harbor waterkeeper, fights to protect the water quality.

"I think it's a huge step up.