Attendees, CAG Members: Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Moderator. Eymund Diegel, Emily Mitchell, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Yarish, Susan Yung.
Guests: Irene Baker, National Grid. Fabio Perla, Gowanus Remediation Trust.
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Agency Questions –
Long discussion on how to get basement flood water tested. Per Eymund, if there is a repetitive flooding condition, people could bottle the water (clean container) and have the Water Quality Testing Committee send the sample to the lab at Brooklyn Army Terminal but mostly what they are testing is enterococcyx, not chemicals. Eymund says it is hard to know what chemicals are from historical industry and what is stuff just lying around the basement. However, they would consider doing the testing if the flooding is consistent like Peter’s building.
Thus – Joan will email the three agencies below to see if test kits could be made available and one of those agencies could do basement flood water testing. DEC, DEP & DOH
– Basement floodwater testing: Can residents/businesses have a practical way to check floodwater for contamination (kits or an agency-supported sampling option)? If kits aren’t recommended, what alternative is feasible?
Further discussion of whether real-time canal monitoring/public reporting is a possibility: Can agencies evaluate deploying monitors along the canal/outfalls (storm-event focused) and publishing results (e.g., open data/dashboard) with public health context? Prepare an email to DEP – Alicia West – ask for it at Bond Street and 2nd Street outflows. (Double check these locations with Eymund). Also reach out to FLOOD NET at NYU.
Additional questions as a follow-up to Alicia West’s answer to some of our questions (see email correspondence in the addenda here):.
Addressing Sewer Backups – When or will the City turn to Gowanus? June 9, 2026 Gowanus Oversight Task Force meeting will cover flooding issues.
– Does the new sewer Alicia West described for the west side of the Canal already have a funded line in the City budget?
– Has DEP started to measure how much of first flush the new buildings are capturing?
– A government agency is supposed to model projections for population increases and climate change. Did the scientific projections in the LTCP account for the results of climate change?
Can we get a presentation on the issues above?.
Discussed and DEFERRED for further discussion:.
Outreach – can the artists stop dumping their paint in the canal by washing brushes, etc… Eymund says that this is an issue in the canal.
– What about the CSOs? Even with the tanks, there will still be CSOs in the water. What will happen to those? Is the City prepared to re-dredge? Should we allow sedimentation? How much? Where? At what point must the City re-dredge and do they have a plan for that? CSO/Bay/land runoff. Do we have to have a 25-foot channel? Dredging affects the ecosystem. Mussel banks cannot be too far down. Rocks and fish habitat could get ruined by City dredging. Which parts can re-sediment and which parts cannot to remain navigable.
– If re-dredging is required, how will the City prevent damage to the cap/remedy? What methods, monitoring/verification, approvals, enforcement, and repair/notification steps would apply if cap disturbance occurs?
– What will the City do if the tanks are not enough to maintain the current SC status of the Canal?
Jason suggested this conversation could wait. Joan says the City has to be pinned down. What is the plan? Some of this may be discussed at June 9, 2026 GOTF meeting but I suspect that will just cover flooding issues.
HYDROLOGY This may deserve a resolution: Current hydraulic conditions, including groundwater elevations and flow direction. This study by DEC was scheduled for completion in late 2024. Per Aaron DEC is working on it. Followed up with Aaron 4/27/2026. See addenda – we know they are not including toxins in the study. Suggestion – overlay the map.
Housekeeping:
1) PowerHouse walkway at Turning Basin 1.
2) Mounding: We will follow on the mounding studies once EPA presents on them again. Issue is forward looking – climate change.
3) Dissolved Oxygen Levels: Any acknowledgement from Fagel, Waldron or Smith to our resolution re: DO levels, Erica?
4) OMP: What is EPA’s demand for responsible parties to maintain an operation and maintenance plan (OMP) for the Gowanus Canal Clean-up strategy? Who will ensure that the OMP is done going forward? Will EPA continue to check that the water quality remains good and that the cap is intact? Does EPA have an OMP Plan? Where is it? Katia followed on these two questions – any answer?