Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Got Gowanus Floodwater In Your House? It's Probably Poop
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 6, 2012
Modified Nov 6, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 6, 2012
Modified Nov 6, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Bad news for anyone in Gowanus whose basement was flooded last week: that's all Canal water, and it's filled with sewage.
The Gowanus Canal is notoriously toxic, and when it overflowed in the midst of Sandy's high-tide rage, there was concern about the unwelcome waste it would dump onto the land, not to mention the horrific stench it brought with it. Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection and the EPA went to check out the designated Superfund site, and while they say saltwater did dilute some of the water's ultra grossness, it's still contaminated with metal, oil and, our personal favorite, raw sewage.
Gowanus residents are unsurprisingly concerned about the brown sludge that's seeped into their homes. The EPA sent out advisories about the Canal's toxicity prior to the storm, warning residents to wash themselves thoroughly if they came into contact with floodwater, and contaminated furniture and other personal belongings will be difficult if not impossible to salvage. On top of that, the neighborhood has a sizable population of artists, and local galleries may be left with a lot of ruined work.
And let's not forget the gentrifiers! Gowanus' popularity has been picking up steam as of late, and a new 700-unit rental building was set to start development right at the water early next year. Lightstone Group, the company behind the project, says they still plan to go ahead with it, and blueprints had already taken Canal flooding into account. We certainly hope so, because it would be pretty unsightly to find this in your backyard. And on top of all that, the forthcoming Whole Foods site was also flooded, just when it was finally made non-toxic.
Tagged
brooklyn
epa
Gowanus
gowanus canal
hurricane sandy
Whole Foods
Rebecca Fishbein
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:34 p.m. ET
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .