Large public turnout urges council to halt Inner Harbor seawater desalination; speakers cite environmental and fiscal risks

A prolonged public comment period Aug. 12 brought dozens of residents, business owners and advocates to the podium to press the City Council on the proposed Inner Harbor seawater desalination project and related debt and design choices.

Speakers opposing the Inner Harbor location raised environmental, fiscal and equity concerns. Common themes included the potential for hypersalinity and low dissolved oxygen in the near‑harbor bay environment, uncertainty over modeled impacts, the proximity of intake and discharge, and the perception that a large share of the plant’s water would serve industrial users rather than residents. Multiple commenters urged the council to halt or redirect the project, pursue alternatives such as Harbor Island or offshore intake/discharge, expand reuse and capture from other watersheds (including proposals to enlarge capture on the Mary Rhodes Pipeline corridor), or focus on conservation and industrial curtailment.

Speakers cited a range of technical and budgetary concerns: large cost increases from initial estimates (comments noted figures that rose from the low hundreds of millions toward more than $1 billion), operating cost uncertainty, and historical examples of desalination plants achieving less than design capacity or shutting temporarily for maintenance. Several speakers asked for independent review of the modeling used to support permits and for greater transparency about assumptions and contingency costs.

Those in favor of desalination urged council to secure an additional water source quickly, arguing the city needs capacity for industry and residents as growth continues. Other commenters framed the issue as a choice about the city’s future economy and recommended alternatives such as expanding the Mary Rhodes Pipeline, capturing peak flows, creating storage and pursuing floating solar to lower evaporative losses.

Public commenters included longtime district residents, civic groups and business owners; several speakers asked that decisions be delayed or put to a public vote. Council did not take a vote on the desalination project during the Aug. 12 meeting; staff noted that later agenda items tied to the project were scheduled for future council consideration. Several commenters urged the council to prioritize transparency, independent scientific review and measures to protect Hillcrest and other neighborhoods historically burdened by industrial impacts.