The Jones Falls Project

UBalt students, faculty and staff cleaning the Jones Falls waterway

The Jones Falls Research Project

The Univerity of Baltimore is making its impact to bring an historic ecosystem back from the brink.

Restoring Jones Falls will have a positive impact on many.

Jones Falls

Our goal: contribute to a healthier urban environment for the citizens of Baltimore.

It's one of Baltimore's most important, historic urban waterways, and it flows right by The University of Baltimore campus. But the Jones Falls is ailing, and its health is critical on multiple levels.

Local: The Jones Falls is a unique green space for the city's citizens and a wildlife corridor in heavily urbanized central Baltimore; it's also the main tributary to the Inner Harbor, one of the city's main tourism attractions.
Regional: The Jones falls is a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, impacting the bay's greater watershed; this is especially important in light of a new approach to bay restoration that focuses on individual tributaries.

My desire to work in the science field was greatly strengthened after classes like the Jones Falls one. Having classes that get you out into the field and collecting real data through sampling techniques is fun and exciting.

Charlie Pjura B.A. '21

What UBalt is doing to contribute

The Jones Falls Research Project is a comprehensive ecological assessment of the Lower Jones Falls. Since the project's inception in summer 2009, specific research projects have included:

examining effects of sewage and contaminated stormwater leaks on water quality and stream life
characterizing water quality in the Lower Jones Falls
identifying contaminated sewer and stormwater outfalls
characterizing and monitoring bacterial communities in the Jones Falls
characterizing the parasitic community of Jones Falls fish
comparing the biological communities of similarly sized streams in the Baltimore area to identify specific impacts on urban stream ecosystems.

Students at University of Baltimore have participated in the project through undergraduate research and classwork, and the Jones Falls serves as an excellent introduction to the real challenges of modern urban society. Students in UBalt's Environmental Sustainability major can design and conduct their own studies on the Jones Falls.

Review the History of the Jones Falls.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Jones Falls Research Project or wish to get involved, contact Stanley Kemp or Wolf Pecher or call 410.837.5094.