An Artificial Island Cleans the Baltimore Harbor
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The Harbor Wetland, next to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, is both a public space and a pollution-fighting waterfront feature.
Photographer: Philip Smith/The National Aquarium
For years, many fish and birds have boycotted the polluted waters outside Baltimore's National Aquarium. But a new artificial island is employing the natural filtering properties of wetlands to clean up the city's waterfront in one of the most ambitious efforts of its kind.
The floating, 10,000-square foot Harbor Wetland aims to curb harmful algae growth and filter contaminants from harbor-bound water. The project’s creators point to the arrival of turtles, river otters and seabirds as evidence that the project is already paying off, and could help shape other cities' efforts to tidy their long-polluted waterways, contributor Mark Byrnes writes today on CityLab: A Floating Island in Baltimore Raises Hope for a Waterfront Revival