The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is attempting to get the Gowanus Canal reclassified to a degree of quality that would compel the city to clean it up enough for swimming, according to Crain’s. The Brooklyn Superfund site is currently classified as a Class SD waterway, which supports fishing; a proposal that includes raising the quality of 30 waterways would redesignate the waterway as Class SC, allowing for swimming and boating. But are we ready to leave the banks for a swim in the canal’s fragrant waters?
The new designation would align nicely with real estate developers’ dream of transforming the area around the canal into an upscale mixed-use neighborhood following the city’s massive rezoning vote, in which the City Council approved plans to upzone 82 blocks of the Gowanus neighborhood.
The new proposal could be finalized as early this year, and while that would require the city to take steps to make the canal safe for swimming, it won’t be ready for residents to take a dip for some time. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is elbow-deep in a Superfund cleanup, which is not scheduled to be finished for several years.
Em Ruby, a senior advocacy and policy coordinator at Riverkeeper, an environmental organization dedicated to protecting New York’s waterways, told Crain’s in a statement:
“This is definitely an improvement for water quality in the Gowanus. It’s designating it to meet swimmable water quality standards, but because of other circumstances, swimming is not considered a best use.”
6sqft recently reported that excavation for an eight-million-gallon underground facility designed to capture sewage overflow that would otherwise spill into the canal during rainstorms, along with a smaller tank, had been completed. That project is set to be completed in 2030.
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