Blue Water Baltimore

Watershed restoration:blue water baltimore's stormwater reduction efforts aim to reduce the volume of rain water runoff, or stormwater and the amount of pollution flowing into our streams. We work with communities, places of worship, and other institutions. We are working to engage residents in actions to reduce nutrient, sediment and other pollution from entering local streams in the patapsco and back river watersheds and ultimately the chesapeake bay.in 2024, we worked with more than 25 partners including congregations, schools, neighborhood associations and hospitals to plan and construct green infrastructure projects that reduce and filter stormwater runoff. We managed the installation of 4 green stormwater infrastructure systems, including pavement removal, rain gardens and conservation landscaping. Projects include village of 12 trees, prince of peace lutheran church, bolton street synagogue, and asencion saint agnes hospital. These projects treat 2.42 acres (1.50 impervious) of our watershed each time it rains.

Greening:we planted 952 street trees in parks, schools, residents and along neighborhood streets in our watershed. We gave away over 1,180 trees to be planted in yards within baltimore city and county. Our street tree program created 103 new tree beds while removing 4,843 square feet of impervious surface in baltimore city. If all giveaway trees were planted this is the equivalent of 7.10 acres of new tree canopy. This will expand as the trees grow and spread their limbs.

Waterkeeper:blue water baltimore maintains a rigorous long-term water quality monitoring program in baltimore's streams, rivers, and harbor in order to characterize the health of our local waterways, hold polluters accountable, and advocate for stronger laws for clean water. In 2024, we collected thousands of individual measurements of water health which we used to develop regional water quality scores for our annual report card. The report card and all of the data we generate are available online at baltimorewaterwatch.org. Our data-mapping website is an invaluable tool for residents and visitors that helps them make informed decisions about how and when they can safely fish, paddle, and wade in our local waterways. Our waterkeeper team received and responded to 100 pollution reports from community members through various channels including social media, email, our pollution reporting hotline, and our online pollution reporting tool. These reports ranged from issues such as erosion and sediment control violations at construction sites, to sewage overflows and water main breaks. In 2024 we negotiated a strong consent decree in our clean water act lawsuit against fleischmann's vinegar company inc., kerry inc., and kerry holding co. With our partners, we successfully advocated for the maryland clean water justice act which allows individuals and communities to enforce maryland's clean water laws, including those pertaining to ephemeral streams, intermittent streams, and nontidal wetlands.outreach and education:in 2024 we had 50 different outreach and education activities across the organization and reached nearly 1300 individuals in our community at community events, workshops, through door knocking and community meetings as well as delivering education programming like how's the water hon?, bug hunts, and walk & talks.