If you’ve been near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor this week, you’re again left with a simple question: What is that smell?
“Walking around, you obviously smell it. Windows down, you smell it too,” said Lauryn Allen of Fells Point.
What’s causing that smell?
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) said this is part of an annual turnover event caused by the weather.
The drastic change from daytime to nighttime temperatures caused surface water to cool and sink to the bottom of the harbor, causing bacteria from the floor to rise.
“We keep getting these swings, and eventually, when the temperature starts to mellow out a little bit, and that diurnal change between night and day is not as drastic, it’ll figure itself out,” said Charmain Dahlenburg, Director of Conservation at the National Aquarium.
These bacteria don’t require a lot of oxygen. At the surface, non-oxygenic photosynthesis takes place, and a sulfur-like byproduct creates not only the smell but a green hue, according to Dahlenburg.
“This is something that naturally occurs in lakes,” Dahlenburg said. “It’s very beneficial to distribute the nutrients across lakes. It’s often called upwelling. In the harbor, this should be not acting like a lake, but because we created this box where we dredged it, the water becomes very stagnant, stratified, and that’s when we see these thermal inversions.”
On Thursday, the water was green and had an odor described as an “egg-llike” smell.
“It smells like an unfortunate tray of deviled eggs that’s been left out for a really long time,” said Emily Ward of Remington.
Dead fish in Baltimore’s harbor
A putrid stench has been all too common at the harbor recently. Last week, the MDE estimated that there were 25,000 dead menhaden fish in the water from Canton to Locust Point.
Scientists with MDE said they measured low dissolved oxygen levels, and said this is likely due to the seasonal die-off of algae. They do not think the low levels were caused by pollution.
Residents react
Now, neighbors who work and live along the waterfront say the smell is stinking up their homes.
“I have some vague memories of this happening as a kid, too, but nothing so acute and disgusting as this right now,” said Isabella Chilcoat of Fells Point. “My first floor smelled like eggs, or a stink bomb went off, and I was trying to figure out what in my house was causing them. Then, I stepped outside, and of course, the entire area smells terrible.”
Others said this is not a good fragrance for Baltimore’s most prized tourist spot.
“I feel a little ashamed, honestly,” Ward added. “I love Baltimore, and I love people being excited about Baltimore, and it’s kind of embarrassing that tourists are subjected to this.”
It will likely take a soaking rain or front to get rid of the smell.
The National Aquarium said a long-term solution is raising the harbor’s floor so that water can flow in and out more easily.