The waters in Baltimore’s long-suffering Harbor may not be rebounding as much as many have hoped, but officials plan to stage another public swim there next month.

Mayor Brandon Scott, City Council members and scores of other Baltimore boosters and residents jumped from a Fells Point dock into the harbor a year ago in a symbolic leap to demonstrate the water’s safety. It was the first public swim in the harbor in decades.

Now Harbor Splash will return for a second year, this time welcoming 200 participants, the Waterfront Partnership announced Wednesday. The swim is scheduled for June 21, again at the Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point, and will kick off with a ceremonial jump at 9:00 a.m.

“Fifteen years ago, swimming in the Harbor was a radical idea. Today, we’re seeing that vision come to life, and it’s thanks to the determination of countless partners, advocates and volunteers who believed in it,” said Michael Hankin, president and CEO of Brown Advisory and chair of the Healthy Harbor Initiative.

Waterfront Partnership, which also operates Baltimore’s family of trash wheels, has helped lead a 15-year effort to make the harbor swimmable. Over that time, Baltimore has spent more than a billion dollars to curb pollution, including through investments in the regional wastewater system.

This year’s Harbor Splash will take place a little over a month after the environmental nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore’s annual water quality report card found that — despite recent hype — the Harbor’s water quality has declined over the last 13 years.

Blue Water’s assessment focuses on the watershed’s health for underwater life, like plants, crabs and oysters, and Adam Lindquist, the Waterfront Partnership’s vice president, said last week that he believes the harbor’s safety for swimming has improved substantially.

In 2024, the Fells Point location where this year’s Harbor Splash will take place testing passed state standards for water recreation in 83% of samples, with the bulk of the failed tests happening after rain, according to an assessment released Wednesday by the Waterfront Partnership.

Rain remains one of the main challenges for water quality, since it washes trash and pollutants from the city down storm drains and into the harbor.

Other testing locations around the harbor also passed water quality standards in the vast majority of cases, according to the Waterfront Partnership assessment.

“This event is just the beginning,” Lindquist said Wednesday. “From competitive races to family-friendly water activities, we’re looking forward to a future where the Harbor is a destination for recreation as much as restoration.”

Participants must be 18 years or older to join the 2025 Harbor Splash, and registration opens at Noon on May 28th. Residents can find more information at www.HarborSplash.org