Two Baltimore district courthouses cleared from Legionella

Racquel Bazos, The Baltimore Sun on Jan 9, 2025

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BALTIMORE — The first two district courthouses in Baltimore found to have water contaminated with Legionella bacteria since November have now been cleared after the latest round of remediation and retesting.

Results received Wednesday from the tests conducted at the 5800 Wabash Ave. and 700 E. Patapsco Ave. courthouses on Dec. 30 have found that the water samples are now within “the normal limits,” an emailed statement from the Maryland Department of General Services said Thursday.

After two rounds of flushing and sanitizing the buildings’ pipes, they are now free of any water restrictions, DGS said.

The two courthouses were the first buildings outside of the State Center office complex downtown revealed to have elevated levels of Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a kind of severe pneumonia.

Since November, 12 buildings have been found to have high levels of the bacteria in Baltimore, including City Hall, the city’s two circuit courthouses and the Baltimore City District (People’s) Courthouse.

All have since been treated for the contamination by either the state or city Department of General Services, depending on which jurisdiction owns the property. The State Center office buildings that began the spate of positive tests were recently fully cleared.

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