Believe it or not, Herring Run is named after the Herring, a fish which once lived and spawned in this stream. As late as the 1920’s fisherman were catching Herring below Pulaski Hwy.

State of Herring Run

• Currently Herring don’t swim or spawn in Herring Run.
• Unfortunately, our stream is so polluted that it is not safe to fish, swim or drink the water.
• In addition, summer floods have killed children in the past.
• We have all contributed to our polluted stream in one way or another, and we can all do something about it.

The stream is polluted by:

• bacteria mostly from Baltimore’s old, leaking sewer system
• nutrients
• sediment
• development and contaminated runoff
• humans
• trash

The fish in Back River are unsafe to eat due to high levels of contaminants. The state Department of Environment makes recommendations on how much of a type of fish an individual can safely consume from polluted waterways.