Dysfunctional Government in the Harris Creek Watershed Trash Cleanup

 It does not look as if Baltimore City Government is seriously interested in cleaning up the Baltimore Harbor of Trash. The Trash Removal Sweep as part of the Harris Creek Watershed (246) Project was very successful in significantly removing more that 4 Tons of Trash per month from going into the Baltimore Harbor at the Harris Creek Outlet on Boston Street in Canton. What was important was that the Trash was easily visible(100 SRs) in large accumulations in the backyards of vacant houses. DPW workers had to see these accumulations,but did not report them raising the question of different DPW Services for where you live. The Exciting aspect of this was the Finding that Trash in the Harbor could be significantly reduced by going up stream to find areas of large accumulations. What was needed to be maintained was the Coordinated Cooperation of  the Trash Team as well as keeping the Trash Interceptor properly working. If this could be accomplished in one of the 26 Outlets to the Baltimore Harbor,it could be duplicated in the other 25 Outlets and a Major Reduction of Trash could be prevented from going into the Harbor.   Thus,what was needed was good communication from DPW along with a Functional Trash Interceptor..... along with the Vision that this Feat was doable.

   Unfortunately,this did not take place. Mary Pat Fannon from the Mayor's Office was informed of this Failure in an e-mail dated Sept 12,2011.. James Kraft and Pete Hammen were given this same e-mail Information. The Watershed Project did identify 12 Best Management Practices that could be incorporated throughout the Neighborhoods in the Watershed. Blue Water Baltimore will be following up on these Projects. It is my opinion that "Status quo" of Baltimore City Services in the area of Trash Removal will continue and not change a lot until the Injustice Issues can be properly dealt with and closer cooperation with the Community Neighborhood Leaders is achieved and maximized optimally. Going forward,I see no real effort to effectively move in this direction. It was for this reason that I elected not to attend the October 6,2011 Meeting  It is my understanding that the last Meeting with DPW did not effectively  deal with the deeper issues that I raised.  I will leave further undertakings to Blue Water Baltimore. Respectfully,Ray Bahr MD