Mayor Brandon Scott remembers the first time he saw someone crabbing in the Inner Harbor. It was in 2020, near Fell’s Point.
“I was like, there's no crabs – it's the harbor!” Scott remembered during a Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore press conference on Thursday. “I looked and he had a whole thing of crabs.”
It wasn’t something that Scott would have thought possible as a kid, back when the Inner Harbor waters were known as a stinking, polluted mess. And soon, he hopes to do another thing that was previously unthinkable…
“I can’t wait to jump in the Inner Harbor.”
That might be possible in summer 2024. Scott joined other city officials and environmental leaders who are part of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, a public-private partnership, to announce Harbor Splash 2024 — a public swim event that will get Baltimoreans splashing around the harbor. The announcement signals that the group is one-step closer to its ultimate goal which is more than a decade in the making: a fully swimmable and fishable harbor.
“Swimmers will be assigned a time slot and enter the harbor in groups and can splash and swim throughout their allotted time. We do expect this first swim to be limited in size and scope,” said Adam Lindquist, Vice President of Waterfront Baltimore’s Healthy Harbor Initiative.
On most dry days, water bacteria levels at the Inner Harbor have been safe for swimming and fishing, according to Lindquist and other scientists involved with the project. That changes after storms when runoff can bring unsafe contaminants into the water. The testing — along with improvements in the city sewer system, vigorous trash collection, wetland restoration and government policies like bag bans — have all increased WBP’s confidence that a fully swimmable future is on the near horizon.
“We expect a healthy amount of skepticism too but this is just the beginning!” said Lindquist, who, along with some other members of the partnership went for a celebratory test swim in late September. Nobody was reported to have gotten sick or had any problems resulting from their swim.
“We want to see other events like triathlons, swim meets, and stand up paddleboard races,” he said.
Wildlife has been rebounding in the waters and surrounding shore, all signs that scientists say signal an improving ecosystem. Dolphins have been spotted swimming around Fort McHenry and making more regular local appearances over the last few years.
“It's the ecosystem: you get with what you put into it… it's [the harbor] full of rock, fish and crabs and they don't come here by accident. They're here because there's food and there's habitat, it's a place for them,” said Dr. Eric Schott, a research professor at the Institute of Environmental and Marine Technology.
The announcement comes amidst much attention to Baltimore’s waterways and harbor. Last week, MCB Real Estate revealed the $500 million Harborplace overhaul that could have dramatic impacts on waterfront accessibility. In that same week, Baltimore City settled a historic fine with the state over wastewater pollution discharge from its Patapsco and Back River wastewater treatment plants. The city is in a consent decree to make sure that it continues to meet its effluent discharge permit goals.
Officials have not announced a date yet for the Harbor Splash in 2024. It will be open to registration for participants over 18 years of age.
