This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, and in celebration the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper and Blue Water Baltimore are joining the Waterkeeper Alliance in promoting clean, swimmable waters. The Waterkeeper Alliance has designated today, July 26th, as “Swimmable Action Day.” Few cities depend on water more than Baltimore does, and we are committed…
Stewards of streams and rivers in highly developed areas like Baltimore inevitably spend more of their energy on restoration than on conservation. We often feel this dynamic at Blue Water Baltimore. Occasionally, though, a true conservation opportunity arises and recently one has: preserving Dipping Pond Run. Dipping Pond Run is an intact stream system and…
In the United States we are blessed to have tremendous protections afforded to us by the Clean Water Act and other Federal and state environmental laws. Citizens of other nations lack the most basic legal protection preventing sewage or untreated industrial waste from contaminating their drinking water and natural resources. However, great legal protections do…
From the Desk of the Executive Director: Last Monday, April 9th, was the final day of the Legislative Session in Maryland. After the exciting passage of two top priority bills the week before–increased funding for Waste Water Treatment Plants and limits on where septics systems could be built–it was time to turn attention to important…
Rain is great. I heartily encourage my kids to stick out their tongues and catch a few cold drops of precious spring moisture every April. Rain on impervious surfaces, however, is bad. In our developed environment, impervious surfaces such as streets, sidewalks, parking lots, and roofs are often more prevalent than green space. And lacking…
[Note: This post was written by T.J. Mullen, President of BMP Inc. and Chairman of the Blue Water Baltimore Board of Directors.] My son Jack and I accompanied a lively group from Blue Water Baltimore to Annapolis on Wednesday, March 28th 2012, for the Rally for Clean Water, organized by the Clean Water, Healthy Families…
My name is Tina Meyers and I just started two weeks ago at Blue Water Baltimore as the new Baltimore Harbor WATERKEEPER for Blue Water Baltimore. I am SUPER excited to be your new on-the-water advocate, and I can’t wait to get to know our supporters in more depth. However, there is an urgent issue…
Last week, in the first part of this two part series on water pollution, I explored the connection between energy, water, and pollution. This week my focus is on the home: how water and pollution are connected to where we rest our heads. You’ve likely heard the terms stormwater and urban runoff (if you’d like…
[NOTE: Debra Lenik is the staff Volunteer Coordinator at Blue Water Baltimore, and first joined us in 2010 as part of the AmeriCorps Volunteer Maryland program.] A colleague recently asked me where I saw myself in ten years. Holy mackerel, I thought. Ten years?! I’m 23 years old now and of course, that’s as far…
At Blue Water Baltimore, we take our native plants seriously. This is not only because a landscape full of native plants can help reduce polluted runoff, but also for their other benefits: cooler summers, cleaner air, and more habitat for birds, butterflies, and bees. Consequentially, we work hard to operate Herring Run Nursery as great place…