BALTIMORE, MD (WBFF) — The Waterfront Partnership installed a new bacteria-monitoring station on Wednesday at a private marina in Fells Point to improve tracking of the health of Baltimore’s Harbor.
Each weekday during the summer recreational season, from May through September, the partnership takes samples from five harbor locations for testing at the ZooQuatic Lab on Pratt Street. The new testing equipment automates the process, enabling faster results, partnership spokesperson Rida Dhadani told The Baltimore Sun in an email.
“The ColiMinder system developed by Vienna Water Monitoring Solutions, is a fully automated microbial water quality monitoring system that measures bacteria levels in near-real time, delivering results in as little as 15 minutes compared to traditional lab testing, which can take 24 hours or more,” Dhadani wrote. “Through continuous sampling, it provides more frequent insights into water conditions and represents a new approach to understanding water quality in the Harbor.”
Regularly testing harbor water against Environmental Protection Agency standards provides a big picture view of the harbor’s health, according to the partnership. The locations are chosen based on historical water quality and their proximity to kayaking and other recreational uses. If you’ve ever participated in a Harbor Splash event, data from these tests gave officials the confidence to OK the popular swimming event for the last two summers.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.
Local Story
