{"id":11557252,"date":"2025-07-14T13:07:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T17:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11557252"},"modified":"2025-07-14T16:31:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:31:17","slug":"harbor-splash-swimmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/14\/harbor-splash-swimmers\/","title":{"rendered":"200+ swimmers sign up for Baltimore’s Harbor Splash. Will rain postpone again?"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 200 participants have signed up for the rescheduled Harbor Splash<\/a>, a swimming event in Baltimore’s harbor on Saturday, but a rainy forecast could lead to another postponement.<\/p>\n

Taking place at Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point, the sold-out event is intended to display a “swimmable, fishable” harbor after a decade-plus-long cleanup effort, according to a Monday news release from the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, the nonprofit that is organizing it.<\/p>\n

Harbor Splash was initially scheduled for June 21, but intense rainfall impacted the water quality and postponed the event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Waterfront Partnership\u00a0has constantly monitored the water and found it meets Maryland’s standard for swimming when it hasn’t rained within 48 hours, the organization said. This is consistent with Maryland Department of the Environment’s recommendation not to swim in open waters within 48 hours of rain, according to the release.<\/p>\n

There’s a chance of rain<\/a> every day this week leading up to Saturday’s swim, and Sunday saw flooding<\/a>, according to the National Weather Service. There’s a 30% chance of rain Saturday, as of Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The Waterfront Partnership has not announced a backup plan and did not immediately provide a comment.<\/p>\n

The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with a short program and ceremonial jump. The 200 swimmers, aged 18 or older, are set to then leap into the harbor in timed sessions every 20 minutes. The water will be monitored by Ultimate Watersports, a water event management company.<\/p>\n

Last year’s inaugural Harbor Splash<\/a> saw about 150 people jump into the water.<\/p>\n

The Waterfront Partnership launched the Healthy Harbor Initiative in 2010 for the “litter-strewn and polluted waterway,” according to the release. “The water in Baltimore\u2019s Inner Harbor can now, with routine water monitoring, be managed as a recreational resource,” the release reads.<\/p>\n

The harbor was impacted by an oil spill and a sewage leak last month. In early June, over 5,000 gallons of oil used to fuel Johns Hopkins health care facilities spilled into the water<\/a>. Later that month, a complaint reviewed by The Baltimore Sun<\/a> pointed to raw human waste leaking into the Inner Harbor.<\/p>\n

The Waterfront Partnership discourages swimming from the promenade outside scheduled events due to lack of professional supervision, boat traffic and sediment pollution.<\/p>\n

Have a news tip? Contact Brendan Nordstrom at bnordstrom@baltsun.com or on X at @bnords03.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 200 participants signed up for the rescheduled Harbor Splash, a swimming event in Baltimore’s harbor on Saturday, but a rainy forecast could lead to another postponement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":10127210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-14T17:07:06Z","apple_news_api_id":"3e11c6e3-35d3-4ca3-a5f9-87996140f526","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-14T20:29:02Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/APhHG4zXTTKOl-YeZYUD1Jg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[88,83,84,85,95],"tags":[24457],"feature":[],"location":[359,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[26675],"class_list":["post-11557252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-latest-headlines","category-local-news","category-news","category-weather","tag-social","location-baltimore","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"88","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"200+ swimmers sign up for Baltimore's Harbor Splash. Will rain postpone again?","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"inside","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1752552000","print_slug":"TBS-L-HARBOR200-0715","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"More than 200 participants signed up for the rescheduled Harbor Splash, a swimming event in Baltimore's harbor on Saturday, but a rainy forecast could lead to another postponement.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

More than 200 participants have signed up for the rescheduled Harbor Splash<\/a>, a swimming event in Baltimore's harbor on Saturday, but a rainy forecast could lead to another postponement.<\/p>

Taking place at Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point, the sold-out event is intended to display a \"swimmable, fishable\" harbor after a decade-plus-long cleanup effort, according to a Monday news release from the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, the nonprofit that is organizing it.<\/p>

Harbor Splash was initially scheduled for June 21, but intense rainfall impacted the water quality and postponed the event<\/a>.<\/p>

The Waterfront Partnership\u00a0has constantly monitored the water and found it meets Maryland's standard for swimming when it hasn't rained within 48 hours, the organization said. This is consistent with Maryland Department of the Environment's recommendation not to swim in open waters within 48 hours of rain, according to the release.<\/p>

There's a chance of rain<\/a> every day this week leading up to Saturday's swim, and Sunday saw flooding<\/a>, according to the National Weather Service. There's a 30% chance of rain Saturday, as of Monday afternoon.<\/p>

The Waterfront Partnership has not announced a backup plan and did not immediately provide a comment.<\/p>

The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with a short program and ceremonial jump. The 200 swimmers, aged 18 or older, are set to then leap into the harbor in timed sessions every 20 minutes. The water will be monitored by Ultimate Watersports, a water event management company.<\/p>

Last year's inaugural Harbor Splash<\/a> saw about 150 people jump into the water.<\/p>

The Waterfront Partnership launched the Healthy Harbor Initiative in 2010 for the \"litter-strewn and polluted waterway,\" according to the release. \"The water in Baltimore\u2019s Inner Harbor can now, with routine water monitoring, be managed as a recreational resource,\" the release reads.<\/p>

The harbor was impacted by an oil spill and a sewage leak last month. In early June, over 5,000 gallons of oil used to fuel Johns Hopkins health care facilities spilled into the water<\/a>. Later that month, a complaint reviewed by The Baltimore Sun<\/a> pointed to raw human waste leaking into the Inner Harbor.<\/p>

The Waterfront Partnership discourages swimming from the promenade outside scheduled events due to lack of professional supervision, boat traffic and sediment pollution.<\/p>

Have a news tip? Contact Brendan Nordstrom at bnordstrom@baltsun.com or on X at @bnords03.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1752525196","print_workflow_exported_username":"Andy Knobel","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":10127210,"title":"Harbor Splash","filename":"TBS-L-HARBOR-SWIM-0624-01.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/TBS-L-HARBOR-SWIM-0624-01.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2024\/06\/23\/harbor-splash-photos\/harbor-splash-4\/","alt":"","author":"36","description":"A wave of swimmers jump into the harbor at Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point during the Waterfront Partnership\u2019s Harbor Splash Sunday morning. 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