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FDA Statement

Food and Drug Administration Alerts Boaters Not to Use Certain Baltimore Harbor Watering Points

The Baltimore District of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today urged commercial ships and recreational boaters not to use certain Baltimore Inner Harbor vessel watering points that FDA has found to have sanitation problems. FDA has notified the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, which operates these eight watering points, that they cannot be used by any vessels taking on potable water until these sanitation deficiencies are remedied.

In repeated notification to the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, FDA has cited critical deficiencies in these eight watering points. These problems include the lack of adequate backflow prevention devices and placement of backflow prevention devices in wells susceptible to flooding.

When a vessel uses a watering point with an inadequate backflow prevention device, or one that lacks a backflow prevention device altogether, contaminated water may enter the vessel’s potable water supply or the municipal water system.

Although there is no indication that these defects have resulted in any contamination of Baltimore’s municipal water supply or any injury to date, these problems pose a risk to public health because contaminated water can spread communicable diseases.

Although the Baltimore City Department of Transportation has made minor corrections to some of these watering points over the past few months in response to FDA warnings, subsequent FDA inspections revealed that critical deficiencies remained. The location of the eight vessel watering points subject to the use prohibition is attached.

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