Sewage System Overflow

By: Erica Alvarez

On Tuesday, the 8th graders attending the Gowanus canal to see if the problems that everyone is talking about are true. The BCS students saw polluted water that looked like disgusting mud (which looked like poop). The 8th graders learned that when it rains the sewage system overflows into the canal. This is a huge problem because people get sick of that dirty polluted water. The wild life can not survive in the canal. The 8th graders put on their “thinking caps” and figured out a solution to clean up this mess, and figure out a way to get the clean the water and to stop getting people sick and a sickness which is cancer to their lungs.

Combined Sewage Overflow is a system that collects rain and water and garbage in the same pipe. The Gowanus Canal was built in the “mid - nineteenth century”. According to, If It’s Raining, NYC’s Raw Sewage Is Probably Pouring Into the Waterways  “ The sewers regularly overflow any time there's more than an inch of rain. We regularly have flooding on the street.” (Matthew Birnbaum). This happens when the storm water overflows the system.  Another quote according to If it’s Raining, NYC’s Raw Sewage Is Probably Pouring Into the Waterways  “CSOs aren’t just gross; they also pose a significant risk to human health. Polluted runoff can contaminate drinking water and spread water borne diseases such as hepatitis and gastroenteritis- and you don’t have to drink the water to get sick. These disease “may also be contracted through inhalation of water vapors, eating contaminated fish and shellfish, and swimming.” (Vicky Gan). This matters because water becomes polluted and people can get sick and it’s very bad for them because of that polluted water and people are getting very ill.

CSO’s has a positive and negative effects. One positive effects is toilets doesn't clog drains the rain isn't treated the ocean pollutes. According to Vicky Gan, “ In a combined sewer system, however, theses two streams travel through the same pipes to the waste water treatment plant.” This shows how it’s also polluting the ocean as well. One negative effect is that the CSO has a negative effect on people’s health and destroys animals that live in the water. According to A brief history of slime “ In 1952, a shark made it’s way in. (the cops shot it.) In 2007, a minke whale swam into the canal, beached itself, and died.” Another source according to Vicky Gan “Polluted runoff can contaminate drinking water and spread water borne diseases such as hepatitis and gastroenteritis.” For example, the water contains human waste, industrial waste or household garbage, this all can make a person very sick. This harms the community because people can get very sick and even end up dying.

Some people and groups are trying to clean up the Gowanus Canal. For example according to Vicky Gan “ Many communities fight CSO’s by building “ gray infrastructure,” such as pipes, sewers, and off-lines storage facilities for runoff. In recent years, the EPA has also the us of “ gray infrastructure”-like rain garden, bios wales, and green roofs -to reduce, capture and treat storm water runoff as it’s source before it reaches the sewer system. Sponge Parks is an example of “ green infrastructure”. ” Another good idea to clean up the canal would be to stop littering because all of that are straight to the canal and that's how the water is  getting polluted.This would be a good plan because then the water won't get polluted and it won't be a water that gets people very sick and people are dying because of the dirty, disgusting water.If we fixed the problem, our future would be very good and people will stop getting sick and stop dying as well and the CSO will stop flooding to the canal and cause pollution. People would be able to swim there like they did before when it wasn't polluted and they had swimming contest theres and people loved it and won trophies and golden medals.

This shows the Gowanus Canal is very polluted and as you can see there is a lot of garbage in the sides. The water is full with poop.