On a good day, the Gowanus Canal plays host to fish, seals, maybe even a baby whale. But on a more typical day, the befouled waterway is home to sewage, bacteria and now, evidently, STDs. Last month’s issue of Scienceline, an NYU publication, reported a discovery by a group of biology students from the New York City College of Technology that water taken from the canal’s surface contained, yuck, gonorrhea.
Those familiar with the state of the Gowanus weren’t all that surprised. Craig Michaels of Riverkeeper, a clean-water advocacy group, cited outdated waste treatment facilities as a source of pollution. Michaels said, “So much waste is being dumped into the waterways, and it’s overflowing the system.”
“These CSO events (combined sewage overflows) occur with surprising frequency,” he continued. “Basically, every time it rains.”
That’s a lot. “On average, they happen 50 to 52 times a year, or once a week,” said Community Board 6 district manager Craig Haberman. “Storm water and sewage backs up into the canal. The pathogens found in the Gowanus are the same as those found in sewage.”
That image is at odds with the looming reality of luxury residential complexes lining the canal — perhaps populating an internal Carroll Gardens waterfront with boutiques and restaurants. “The area is a classic urban infill neighborhood,” said David Von Spreckelsen, a vice president at Toll Brothers, which plans to develop two parcels between Carroll and Second streets west of the canal. “The canal is an interesting component and makes the space that much more exceptional.”
Von Spreckelsen was nonplussed by the recent findings, but noted that cleanup plans are in place.
“There are plans underway to improve the canal’s flushing mechanism in the next couple of years. We don’t have any additional concerns on account of this report’s findings [of gonorrhea],” he said.
Both Haberman and Michaels have concerns that development of any sort along the canal won’t provide adequate cleanup for both the canal’s waters and the contamination of the soil along its banks. “It will take a whole level of government involvement that’s not there yet for the area to be cleaned up,” said Haberman.
Haberman said that the developers involved in Gowanus projects are looking into means to protect the area from additional pollution as well as structures to attract families to the water’s edge. Toll Brothers, for one, is working on plans for an esplanade and access points for canoes and kayaks. “I go out in canoes on the canal every once in a while,” said Von Spreckelsen. “It’s a lot of fun, an interesting way to see the area.”