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3h ago

Baltimore Inner Harbor Gets 'C' in 2025 Report as Prolonged Pistachio Tide Stalls Gains

An unprecedented green turnover highlights a split verdict: record dissolved oxygen alongside worsening algae driven by nutrient pollution.

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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.
Ultra-marathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey speaks about the 2025 “Healthy Harbor Report Card,” an annual update on the health of Baltimore’s harbor based on water quality data gathered in 2024. The report’s findings highlights the recent water quality events including the Sept. fish kill and pistachio tide, and plans for the future of public swimming in the Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/staff)
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Overview

  • The Waterfront Partnership’s 2025 Healthy Harbor Report Card kept the overall ecosystem at a C, with the first-ever A for dissolved oxygen and a D for chlorophyll a.
  • Scientists and officials say the current pistachio tide is unusually long and widespread, with parts of the harbor holding near-zero oxygen since late September.
  • Routine monitoring shows the water is conditionally safe for swimming roughly 80% of the time except after rainfall, though this year’s Harbor Splash was canceled after storm-related contamination.
  • A late-September turnover drove oxygen to zero overnight and caused a fish kill that left thousands of Atlantic menhaden dead.
  • Restoration efforts are expanding, including a goal to grow 5 million more oysters by 2030 after cultivating 1.6 million to date, a push for a statewide Bottle Bill following 278,000 beverage containers collected in 2024, and a new research working group to probe turnover solutions.