Overview

• The second annual Harbor Splash was postponed after Thursday’s intense storms pushed water quality below Maryland open-swim standards, with registrations transferred and refunds available
• Waterfront Partnership tests harbor bacteria five days a week and deems the site “conditionally swimmable” only after 48 hours without rain
• Baltimore plans to invest more than $2 billion by 2032 to modernize its wastewater system under a 2002 federal consent decree aimed at reducing sewage overflows
• Urban runoff and aging sewer infrastructure continue to drive spikes in pollution and bacterial contamination during wet weather
• Despite 15 years of cleanup yielding long-term water-quality gains, environmentalists warn that unpredictable conditions still make unsupervised swims risky