The Gowanus Canal runs through the old industrial heart of Brooklyn and has functioned as a wastewater drain for over a century. Despite modern regulations, waste chemicals and raw sewage often overflow the sewage system into the canal. Like the Chicago River, local urban nature lovers have been trying to clean it up and bring a bit of life back to the waterway. A recent NY Times article meets up with some of them.
Public Laboratory has more about Eydmund Diegel's aerial kite mapping project to find all the sources of pollution in the canal.