On Tuesday, January 3, Me and my group went to the Gowanus Canal conservancy center in Brooklyn. This organization focuses on the contaminations in the canal, mainly historical ones. The volunteer coordinator gave us a walking tour around the canal and the neighborhood around it. He told us about all of the problems in the canal such as a ten feet deep coat of muddy coal at the bottom of the canal (this was created because of coal factories further up the canal), also when it rains the sewage outputs overflow and the sewage drains out of the pipes. The canal has basically became unlivable for almost every organism. While walking across the bridges you could smell it, that was one of the worst smells I have ever had to smell. The volunteer coordinator told us how they are helping. Because the coal is almost un-curable they are going to cap it off with a layer of cement. The sewage problem is being solved by creating these things on the sidewalks which stop over 2,000 gallons of water from going into the sewage and creating overflows into the canal. He also explained how this pollution is effecting the people around the canal. The neighborhood is beautiful and is becoming more modern every year. Imagine if the canal was as clean as the bays out in long island. The value of these houses would go up by so much and this neighborhood would make so much money. But today if you swim there you will get diseases and it would be like swimming in poop! People need to know about how much sewage and waste is being put here. I’ve never seen anywhere more polluted than here.