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1h ago

Baltimore Harbor Gets ‘C’ in 2025 Report as Pistachio Tide Exposes Ongoing Risks

The new assessment highlights gains in oxygen levels but flags nutrient-fueled algae and recent incidents as evidence the ecosystem remains fragile.

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Workers help Mr. Trash Wheel ingest a buffet of flotsam near Harbor East that washed down the Jones Falls following yesterday’s heavy rains.
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Overview

  • The Waterfront Partnership’s 2025 Healthy Harbor Report Card, released Friday using 2024 data, kept the Inner Harbor at an overall C for ecosystem health.
  • Dissolved oxygen earned its first-ever A, which the group links to long-term infrastructure upgrades and regional nutrient reductions.
  • Chlorophyll A fell to a D, the lowest since 2010, as stormwater- and wastewater-borne nutrients drive harmful algae, including a pistachio tide described as unprecedented in scope and duration.
  • Recent shocks underscored volatility, including a September turnover that drove oxygen to zero and killed thousands of Atlantic menhaden, plus a summer oil or diesel spill.
  • The Partnership outlined next steps, setting a goal to grow 5 million more oysters by 2030, reporting 278,000 beverage containers collected by Mr. Trash Wheel in 2024, and backing a statewide Bottle Bill to curb litter.