Gowanus residents hear report on toxins found in wake of Sandy
When the waters of the Gowanus Canal gushed over its banks during Hurricane Sandy, flooding the streets and the basements of homes and businesses nearby, it was not the water itself that most worried residents and officials.
It was the noxious waste materials in the canal, declared by the Environmental Protection Agency as one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country.
It’s not only the decades and decades of industrial toxins dumped into the waterway that have caused it to become a hazardous witches’ brew, but the combined sewer overflow (CSO) and ground-level contaminants that flow directly into the channel when rain and snow melt overpower the inadequate sewer system.