There should be a better effort at collecting trash and detritus that flows into the harbor from the Jones Falls and various creeks that spill into the Inner Harbor. There was at one point a solar powered collector at the end of the Jones Falls, but it's gone now. More of those should be put in, not taken away. This would keep a lot of stuff from getting into the harbor in the first place.

I recently bought a large boat and moved to the Inner Harbor to live on it, As a resident that lives on the water in the harbor, and as a licensed Captain that works in and around the Inner Harbor 20 to 30 hours a week I have made several observations. Our great Inner Harbor after a rain storm is a floating garbage dump, much of the empty bottles, plastic and paper bags, cigarette butts, tires, furniture and many other types of trash flow down the Jones Falls and directly into the Inner Harbor, after a storm the water is so polluted that it often looks as though you could walk across the water on a bed of trash. Our city has put in place several motorized trash collectors that skim the water all day and remove tons of trash daily from our harbor, although this seems to be a lot, the city of Baltimore has removed the best trash collectors ever used in our city's history and no one can explain why, prior to this year the City of Baltimore had in place two , solar powered trash collectors that removed trash prior to in floating into the Harbor, these collectors kept our harbor much cleaner and litter and trash free. The quality of water when these collectors where running was noticeably better and often commented on by residents and visitors. These collectors that were located at the causeway where the Jones Falls empties into the harbor near the Water Front Marriott, and at a site in Canton were the best solution the city has ever used, Recently the city has started dumping additives into the water so that on days where there is national TV coverage such as Ravens games and busy holidays our harbor has a deceiving greenish tint that makes it look clean and inviting.
I live on the Harbor, I own a Kayak and when out on the water I am fearful of actually touching the water and wash immediately after I come in contact with it, I see people fishing from piers at Tide Point, Canton Park, and piers at Fells Point. I wonder, do these people know how polluted these waters are, have they seen the lesions on the fish, do they actually eat their catches.
I'd like to know from city officials, why have you taken out the trash collectors, are you saving the jobs of the drivers of the mechanical skimmers that are not effective, why are you hiding the problems by using colors instead of fixing the problems. As a person that lives on the Harbor, makes a living on the water, and tries to recreate as well on the Harbor, I feel the cleanliness of the water is a responsibility of all residents but the city of Baltimore and our ELECTED officials are doing little if anything to protect the Inner Harbor, its water quality, and all the revenue that is at stake from tax dollars, Oh, the things I could show you !

I have kayaked, sailed and fished in the Harbor and have even studied its water quality during college. The Harbor is in much better condition today than in years past. however, we do have big runoff problems and more importantly antquated infra-structure. During heavy rains the single line system is designed to catch excess sewer water and drains directly into the harbor. Luckily some of this is now being corrected. In reality the Harbor which was one almost completly dead is a come back story. For the last month or so, the south wall of the Inner Harbor has been home to hundreds of crabs, that have attracted tourists and residents alike. The harbor is also filled with fish. Strangely the waters in the Harbor are only slightly dirtier than the Choptank River, which appears serene and clean, but is damaged by the number one pollutant, agricultural runoff. Though trash looks terrible it has little effect on water quality. The ever increasing impervious surfaces in the watershed and suburban lawn care are increasingly becoming a problem in the Harbor. The industry polluntants are stuck down in the sludge and fairly safe unless disturbed. My hope is that one day, the Inner Harbor will be clean enough to host a triatholon. I suspect it already is, but remains highly stigmatized. I wish people would understand their effects on the watershed. The Inner Harbor Watershed runs deep into Howard and Baltimore counties. These are the most likely the sources of the alge blooms "fish kills" that plague the Harbor every June.