Meet the Team
In order to collect the water-quality data that drives the Baltimore Water Watch website, Blue Water Baltimore, the home of the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, developed an ambient water quality monitoring program to collect scientifically-rigorous and legally-defensible water-quality data using the Mid-Atlantic Tributary Assessment Coalition (MTAC) protocol. The administration and management of our monitoring program are the responsibility of our Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper, Alice Volpitta, and our Water Quality Scientist, Barbara Johnson.
Blue Water Baltimore’s mission is to restore the quality of Baltimore’s rivers, streams, and Harbor to foster a healthy environment, a strong economy, and thriving communities. We work to protect and restore Baltimore Harbor and the greater Patapsco River and its tributaries through advocacy, enforcement, restoration, education, and engagement to make our waters suitable for fishing and swimming, improve public health, and improve the health of the river ecosystem.
Alice Volpitta
Alice Volpitta is the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper at Blue Water Baltimore. She directs the enforcement and water quality monitoring activities to protect and restore Baltimore’s waterways. In this role she has worked with a variety of public and private stakeholders to design and implement water quality surveys, including both ambient water quality monitoring and Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination studies. Additionally, Alice compiles, analyzes, and interprets our water quality data in order to develop the Baltimore Water Watch. Alice has been with Blue Water Baltimore since 2014, and she earned her degree in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Barbara Johnson
As Blue Water Baltimore's Water Quality Scientist, Barbara Johnson leads field teams for the ambient water quality monitoring program under the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper. Barbara also manages our Outfall Screening Blitz program and our Pollution Reporting 101 trainings and conducts pollution investigations when problems are reported by community members. Before joining Blue Water Baltimore, Barbara interned with the water quality monitoring program and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Sustainability and Human Ecology from the University of Baltimore.