July 7 2012

Gowanus is doable? [meaning it can be cleaned-up partly with EM-1]

PSM in a quick email…

“Yes, compared to the biological capacity of the Gowanus edges low water volume because it is shallow relatively rapid diffusion rate because the volume is relatively small, and large comparative volume of tidal input and comported to total water volume in the Gowanus, this is a relatively small system.

Even the combined sewer input could be relatively simply (read relatively) since I could build street-side swales capable of capturing between 50 up to about 200 gallons per linear foot of each of these; making it possible to hold large volumes of water on the landscape and out of the combined sewers that discharge into the Gowanus. I would have to go over the street lengths over the whole of the combined sewer system to give all the capacity available here, but if you look uphill towards the moraine from Union and other streets heading downhill to the Gowanus, recognizing that this whole slope is sandy outwash from the glacier, there is large volume of below ground capacity where water could be stored for later usage by the trees”

- psm

Paul S. Mankiewicz, Ph.D.

The Gaia Institute

99 Bay Street