By Laura Quigley

This past weekend, EJJI board member Eric Schott joined a group of more than 150 people in jumping into Baltimore's Inner Harbor for the inaugural Harbor Splash. Coordinated by Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, Harbor Splash is part of a larger initiative to make the city's waters swimmable - and to improve public opinion toward the health of Baltimore's waterways.

As Associate Research Professor for the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (UMCES at IMET), Schott is passionate about improving the health of Baltimore's waters for both aquatic creatures and people.

This jump isn't the first time Schott has leaped into the Inner Harbor to make a case for improved water quality. In September 2023, he joined fellow researchers and clean water advocates in the waters near Fells Point to demonstrate their safety. [Read Schott's guest commentary about the 2023 jump here.]

About the Harbor Splash event, Schott says:

"Being able to safely swim in Baltimore Harbor this week is the product of years of effective work by environmental groups, enforcement of clean water laws, dedicated and prolonged repairs by the City of Baltimore, and over a decade of cooperation led by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore [WPB]. The WPB set a goal back in 2010, and consistently convened meetings of all the stakeholders until the goal was met. 

We need to make sure the 2024 splash is just the start. Neighbors of Baltimore’s other waterfront, along the Middle Branch, deserve swimmable water as well, and now there is no reason to think it’s not achievable soon. The Reimagine Middle Branch project can provide the framework for public engagement, coordination, and follow-through that is needed. EJJI is poised to use its connections with both community and environmental studies to support the goal of a swimmable Middle Branch."