Baltimore has improved the quality of its public waterways. Other cities can, too.

Follow this authorLeana S. Wen's opinions

The partnership “put pressure on the city for the most important upgrades and repairs in the sewer system,” Lindquist told me. After years of advocacy, city officials finally prioritized this project and made upgrades, such as building a new pumping station and two giant storage tanks to handle excess sewage. From 2019 to 2023, Lindquist said, sewage overflow fell 76 percent.

The partnership also worked with a local company, Clearwater Mills, to pilot a sustainably powered trash receptacle to filter debris out of the water, ranging from cigarette butts to guitars, mattresses and trees. There are now four continuously operating trash receptacles in the Baltimore waterways. In 2023, they removed over 1 million pounds of trash and debris.

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Lindquist’s even gave the receptacles a name, “Mr. Trash Wheel,” and large googly eyes that he concocted in his basement. Over time, Mr. Trash Wheel developed a devoted following, complete with its own social media accounts. It now serves as a mascot to rally Baltimoreans to restore the harbor.

A post shared by Mr. Trash Wheel (@mrtrashwheel)

Another creative way the partnership is cleaning up the water is by cultivating oysters, which can digest algae, sewer sludge, food waste and other sediment. In fact, a single adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day.

Sadly, the local oyster population has declined precipitously. Two hundred years ago, the oysters could filter all the water in the Chesapeake in less than a week. Now, it would take more than a year.

Together with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other nonprofits, the partnership started incubating baby oysters and placing them at a sanctuary oyster reef. Last year, they placed 1.6 million oysters throughout Maryland. This not only improves water quality but also serves as a reminder to residents about the connectedness of the........

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