Transcript
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Paris spent billions to clean the River Seine. Still, the Olympic triathlon was delayed because of high bacteria levels, and at least one athlete got sick. Water pollution isn't unique to Paris, though, as NPR's Adam Bearne learned in Baltimore.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Three, two, one.
(CHEERING)
ADAM BEARNE, BYLINE: They might not have been sporting sleek Olympic swim suits, but for Baltimore residents, a swim in the city's harbor back in June was years in the making. Adam Lindquist is with the Waterfront Partnership. It promotes business and tourism here.
ADAM LINDQUIST: It was such an amazing day. There were hundreds of people lining these piers. Some were there for the spectacle because there was a lot of skepticism that we would be able to jump into the Baltimore harbor.
BEARNE: It's been more than 20 years since Baltimore entered into a federal consent decree that ordered the city to reduce overflows from the sewer system. The Waterfront Partnership tests the harbor water here every weekday from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
(SOUNDBITE OF GLOVES SQUEAKING)
BEARNE: As a diver works nearby, staff scientist Allison Blood pulls on some protective gloves before dropping a tool called a Beta bottle into the water.
ALLISON BLOOD: Which is just a sampling tool that lets us collect a water sample below the surface.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SWISHING)
BEARNE: About 24 hours later, it's good news from the lab. The levels of bacteria from sewage or animal waste are within Maryland's safety limits for recreation. The Waterfront Partnership says that's the case about 80% of the time. Blood also dunks a black-and-white disc to measure water clarity.
BLOOD: Pretty average, maybe a little less than average. And we've had lots of storms over the weekend, so looks as expected.
BEARNE: And that's the biggest obstacle to safe swimming here, rain, even though Baltimore, like Paris, has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the sewers. About two miles upstream, I catch up with Alice Volpitta, the Baltimore harbor waterkeeper.
ALICE VOLPITTA: Right now, we're at the lowest point in the Jones Falls before the stream is channeled underground.
BEARNE: She's with the advocacy group Blue Water Baltimore.
VOLPITTA: And eventually, it will come out on the other side right at the Baltimore Inner Harbor.
BEARNE: In contrast to the beauty of the harbor, we're standing next to road and railway bridges covered in graffiti, surrounded by trash.
VOLPITTA: And every once in a while, you can smell this sewage smell in the air.
BEARNE: Volpitta and her colleague, Sarah Holter, test the water here with what looks like a chunky wand.
VOLPITTA: Temperature is 26.6 degrees Celsius.
BEARNE: One reading in particular tells them a lot.
VOLPITTA: Conductivity 454.6.
BEARNE: That level is a signature of stormwater runoff. And as Volpitta and I talk, a murky plume suddenly appears in the water.
VOLPITTA: Nothing has really changed in terms of rainfall or anything like that, so we can be very sure that what we're seeing is some type of illicit discharge flowing into our stream.
BEARNE: Dark brown liquid is pouring down a concrete bank less than 100 feet away. Samples taken before and after both show bacteria levels over three times the recommended limit. Volpitta says that's a big challenge for recreation.
VOLPITTA: We can make really good, common-sense policy around not coming into contact with waterways in an urban ecosystem after a certain amount of rain. But how is anybody ever supposed to know when something like that is about to happen? They can't.
BEARNE: The Baltimore mayor's office told NPR in a statement that progress has been made on cleanup, adding that their work is not done. Advocates and officials working together, then, to give residents more chances to dive in and channel their inner Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky.
Adam Bearne, NPR News, Baltimore.
(SOUNDBITE OF ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS' "MOANIN'") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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