Ongoing Sewage Leak in the Chinquapin Run
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Ongoing Sewage Leak in the Chinquapin Run

On May 12, 2016, a staff member at Blue Water Baltimore was on her way to investigate a report of illegal dumping in the Perring Loch neighborhood, and her route took her across the Loch Raven Boulevard bridge. While crossing the bridge, she was overwhelmed by the stench of sewage—a constant reminder of the ongoing sewage leak…

OSB Program Finds Sewage Leak in the Stony Run
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OSB Program Finds Sewage Leak in the Stony Run

On Tuesday April 19, Blue Water Baltimore conducted our first Outfall Screening Blitz of the year in the upper Stony Run. The Outfall Screening Blitz is a project in partnership with Ridge to Reefs and the Chesapeake Bay Trust that is focused on finding and eliminating pollution that is illegally entering Baltimore streams through the City’s stormwater…

Examining Microbial Biodiversity
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Examining Microbial Biodiversity

Recently our Water Quality Monitoring program teamed up with Dr. Robert Hilderbrand, Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, to look at another dimension of water health in the Jones Falls stream.  Here, Dr. Hilderbrand talks about the microscopic organisms that make the Jones Falls unique. Stream Microbiomes Our…

Free Trash Cans: A Huge Win for Clean Water!
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Free Trash Cans: A Huge Win for Clean Water!

By this point, you have probably heard that Baltimore City Department of Public Works has begun to distribute municipal trash cans to all households throughout the city. This is the culmination of many years of effort by individuals, community groups, city agencies, and non-profit organizations, including Blue Water Baltimore. The Clean Water Communities program brought…

How to get a summer job at Blue Water Baltimore

How to get a summer job at Blue Water Baltimore

Want to learn about careers in the green industry? Interested in gaining job skills in landscaping and tree maintenance? Blue Water Baltimore will host eight summer interns through Baltimore City’s Youthworks Program. We will hire outstanding local youth for these positions who are interested in working to help our community and our environment. WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Baltimore…

12 Million Gallons of Sewage and Counting
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12 Million Gallons of Sewage and Counting

Last Wednesday night, the Baltimore region received more than two inches of rain, which led to significant flooding around the region. When large rainstorms like these hit Baltimore, stormwater runoff leaks into our sanitary sewer system through cracks in aging pipes and illegal connections. The stormwater mixes with sewage and overwhelms both the pipes and…

Baltimore’s Candidates for Mayor Tackle Environmental Questions

Baltimore’s Candidates for Mayor Tackle Environmental Questions

[Photo courtesy of League of Conservation Voters] Last night, we witnessed an impressive moment as more than three hundred people gathered at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in West Baltimore to ask Baltimore’s mayoral candidates to share their vision for making Baltimore a more livable, healthy and clean city. As executive director of Blue Water Baltimore…

Five Cities That Show Baltimore’s Harbor Can Be Swimmable

Five Cities That Show Baltimore’s Harbor Can Be Swimmable

A new report offers hope that Baltimore will eventually make its Harbor fishable and swimmable, along with some lessons that will make it easier to achieve that goal. Swimmable Cities: Lessons for Baltimore from Five Cities that Have Cleaned Up Their Rivers, Lakes and Estuaries was produced by the Center for Watershed Protection and released…

Helping Baltimore Dig Out From The Snow

Helping Baltimore Dig Out From The Snow

[Chris Watson is Blue Water Baltimore’s Construction Manager, managing the implementation of projects involving greening and stormwater mitigation as well as overseeing training of his crewmembers for workforce development.] I hope that you have weathered the recent winter storm in good health. It certainly has been a busy week for our team as Blue Water Baltimore has been…

Survey Says: 400 New Trees for North Avenue

Survey Says: 400 New Trees for North Avenue

In nature, trees do a fine job of planting themselves.  In an urban environment like Baltimore, getting the right tree in the right place takes a little bit of human effort. The West North Avenue Streetscape Conceptual Master Plan, completed by the Neighborhood Design Center and influenced by many community and technical partners, identified street…