The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed reclassifying the Gowanus Canal from Class SD to Class SC, which requires water quality suitable for swimming and boating. The canal currently meets only fish-supporting standards. The site remains a federal Superfund cleanup overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency. Central to remediation are two large storage tanks designed to capture combined stormwater and sewage overflow, including one with an 8 million-gallon capacity. The tanks are expected by 2030, but experts anticipate several additional years after completion before water quality could be reliably safe for swimming.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has floated a plan to reclassify the Gowanus Canal's water quality in a way that could eventually make swimming possible. Right now, the infamous Brooklyn waterway is ranked "Class SD," which-believe it or not-meets the standard for supporting fish life. The DEC's proposal would bump the canal up to "Class SC," a designation that requires water to be clean enough for swimming and boating. In other words: not just carp, but cannonballs.
Of course, no one's diving in tomorrow. The canal remains a federal Superfund site and the Environmental Protection Agency is still knee-deep (literally) in one of the city's largest cleanups. Key to the effort are two massive tanks, one of them big enough to hold 8 million gallons of stormwater and sewage that would otherwise flood straight into the canal every time the city's drainage system gets overwhelmed. The tanks are slated to be finished by 2030, but experts say it will take several more years after that before the water quality is truly swim ready.
#gowanus-canal #water-quality-reclassification #superfund-cleanup #stormwater-and-sewage-infrastructure
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