The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment offered the first boat trip in June 1997, hoping that exposing neighborhood residents to the canal would prompt them to take an active interest in its fate. The center's executive director, John C Muir, said he expected little interest in the trip; instead, it sold out. During the cruise, Abu Bakr Moulta Ali of the center performed a few standard tests. Fish need five parts per million of dissolved oxygen to live; Mr. Ali's sample found only 2.8 parts per million. To sustain plant life, light must be able to penetrate six feet; Mr. Ali's test showed light able to penetrate the canal's murky depths for only two feet. Sewage flowed into the canal as early as 1858, and by the 1880’s the waterway had gained the moniker “Lavendar Lake” for its odorous qualities. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023.

The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment offers first boat cruise on the Gowanus Canal in 1997 with executive director John Muir. They found dissolved oxygen at just 2.8 ppm (need 5ppm for fish life) and light can penetrate only 2 feet (need 6 for plant life). On board a tour in 2000 was Buddy Scotto, NY Assemblywomen Joan Millman, and US Congresswoman Nydia Valesquez as they dock at David Lefkowitz's property beside the Carroll Street Bridge.

The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment offers first boat cruise on the Gowanus Canal in 1997 with executive director John Muir. They found dissolved oxygen at just 2.8 ppm (need 5ppm for fish life) and light can penetrate only 2 feet (need 6 for plant life). On board a tour in 2000 was Buddy Scotto, NY Assemblywomen Joan Millman, and US Congresswoman Nydia Valesquez as they pass David Lefkowitz's property beside the Carroll Street Bridge.

Boat tours on the Gowanus Canal with Buddy Scotto, NY Assemblywomen Joan Millman, and US Congresswoman Nydia Valesquez above the Carroll Street Bridge.

The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment offers first boat cruise on the Gowanus Canal in June 1997 with executive director John Muir. They found dissolved oxygen at just 2.8 ppm (need 5ppm for fish life) and light can penetrate only 2 feet (need 6 for plant life). On board the tour was Buddy Scotto, NY Assemblywomen Joan Millman, and US Congresswoman Nydia Valesquez.

The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment offers first boat cruise on the Gowanus Canal in June 1997 with executive director John Muir. They found dissolved oxygen at just 2.8 ppm (need 5ppm for fish life) and light can penetrate only 2 feet (need 6 for plant life). On board the tour was Buddy Scotto, NY Assemblywomen Joan Millman, and US Congresswoman Nydia Valesquez.

The Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment offers first boat cruise on the Gowanus Canal in 1997 with executive director John Muir. They found dissolved oxygen at just 2.8 ppm (need 5ppm for fish life) and light can penetrate only 2 feet (need 6 for plant life). On board a tour in 2000 was Buddy Scotto, NY Assemblywomen Joan Millman, and US Congresswoman Nydia Valesquez as they pass David Lefkowitz's property beside the Carroll Street Bridge.

Tatyana Apalboym, an intern for the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, studies a blue crab which was caught in the Gowanus Canal in 1999 by the Union Street Bridge. Unfortunately, the canal began to stagnate again when the flushing tuneel stopped working and by 2013, the canal was taken over as a Superfund site. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023.

Blue Crab scurries by a bicycle tire and hubcap on bottom of the Gowanus Canal in 2000 after the city-led 1999 cleanup effort that involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife.

Blue Crab scurries by a bicycle tire and hubcap on bottom of the Gowanus Canal in 2000 after the city-led 1999 cleanup effort that involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife.

Blue Crab scurries by a bicycle tire and hubcap on bottom of the Gowanus Canal in 2000 after the city-led 1999 cleanup effort that involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife.

The “Chelsea Screamer” takes a trip, led by founder and executive director John C. Muir, along Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal in 1999. The red metal warehouse sta next to the Carroll Street Bridge. Sewage flowed into the canal as early as 1858, and by the 1880’s the waterway had gained the moniker “Lavendar Lake” for its odorous qualities. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Owen Foote canoes in the Gowanus Canal under the Smith-Ninth Street Subway station in 1999. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Gownaus Canal

Gownaus Canal

Gownaus Canal

Gownaus Canal

Chelsea Screamer boat tour on the Gowanus Canal in 1998 with the water a distinct pea colored soup. The large red metal warehouse was beside the Carroll Street Bridge, as far as the boat could go up the canal.

Owen Foote, one of the founders of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, paddles on the Gowanus Canal with the Ninth Street Subway station looming above. The 1.7 mile long canal is currently in an EPA Superfund cleanup plan that is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

A sunken boat in the Gowanus Canal is corroded white as it sits by the bulkhead in the Fourth Street Basin where Whole Foods now resides. Sunken boats were a common site in the waterway. The 1.7 mile long canal is currently in an EPA Superfund cleanup plan that is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Owen Foote, one of the founders of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, paddles on the Gowanus Canal with the Ninth Street Subway station looming above. The 1.7 mile long canal is currently in an EPA Superfund cleanup plan that is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Underwater ironwork covered with algae makes art in the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, in 1998. The city-led 1999 cleanup effort involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife. The divers had challenging conditions, coming out covered in oil and tar and working conditions with no visibility underwater.

A jellyfish swims along the top of the water in the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY with its "eyes" in the aiir. The city-led 1999 cleanup effort involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife. The divers had challenging conditions, coming out covered in oil and tar and working conditions with no visibility underwater.