Water quality is a major issue within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. As the battle continues to be waged against its decline, various environmental groups are working to improve local rivers feeding into the bay. Many local politicians have joined the fight to improve one of Maryland’s most important assets.
During his time in office, Doug Gansler – Maryland’s Attorney General, has taken an active role in surveying various aspects of the environment that impacts the Bay. He agrees with environmentalist that it's hard to prosecute those who break the law unless the violator is caught in the act. This is especially true when considering violations of the environmental laws meant to protect the Chesapeake Bay. And, as he said this week, it is especially hard to point a finger at any one person or business when surveying the pollution within Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Economically, Maryland relies on tourism. Much of that business is impacted by the state of our water quality. Baltimore's economy is also tied to tourist business within the Inner Harbor. It is generally accepted that people will not want to stroll the promenade to look at trash-filled water. Few people will want to ride the water taxi through debris-filled water channels, or even worse smelly garbage filled water.
This year, Mr. Gansler took a Springtime tour of the Back River watershed. This past week, he visited Baltimore's Inner Harbor. According to one news report Gansler spoke about the water pollution, saying, “Our biggest role is enforcement. We actually prosecute and we have dozens of ongoing cases involving people who have polluted the Inner Harbor or continue to pollute the Inner Harbor.”
The same news report, on Channel 13 TV, also quoted Dr. William Dennision of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Dr. Williams reports that stormwater is a major contributor to the bacterial pollution of our water. He also mentioned the large quantity of trash, citing how the trash increases after heavy rains wash trash, litter and garbage down the storm drains emptying directly into the waterways..
Eliza Steinmeier is the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper. She also reported fertilizer use and car emissions as major sources of pollution. These items will be added to Gansler's Inner Harbor Environmental Impact Report.
During Gansler's visit to the Inner Harbor, it was noted that there is no dirtier water in Maryland. It will require the cooperation of all environmental groups as well as governmental jurisdictions that feed into the Bay's overall watershed to make a difference. This is especially true for all waterways that feed into the Harbor. With that kind of teamwork and commitment Dennison feels improvement can be made.
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