The trash and pollution that get into Baltimore's Inner Harbor tend to stay there because there's relatively little fresh-water flow to flush them out into the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay.

But contrary to what a lot of people may think, the harbor's degraded condition isn't solely the result of littering and poor housekeeping by the city's residents and businesses.

In fact, according to data presented last weekend at the Waterfront Partnership's conference on the state of the harbor, a lot of the trash in the water comes from far upstream -- in the suburbs.

More than 400 pounds of detritus has been collected in a single day at various points in the Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls in Baltimore County, according to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, which is preparing a report card assessing the harbor's condition.

That's why Baltimore County residents as well as city dwellers are going to be put on the spot by state environmental regulators to help clean up the harbor.   The Maryland Department of the Environment is expected to issue orders next year to the city and county to get - and keep - the debris out of the water. 

And another order is in the works to reduce unsafe levels of bacteria in the water, believed to be primarily from sewage leaks and pet waste washing into streams and storm drains in both the city and the county. As with trash, bacteria levels in the streams that flow into the harbor are often so high that anyone coming in contact with the water risks illness or infection.

The Waterfront Partnsership is working on a plan for making the harbor swimmable and fishable by 2020.  To learn more about it, go here.  Do you think it's do-able?  What would you like to see done?  And what would you be willing to do?

(Image courtesy University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)