City To Start Initial Pump Test For Gowanus Flushing Tunnel In Next Few Weeks

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Good news for Gowanus residents.  It would appear that the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel, located  at 201 Douglass Street at the head of the canal,  may soon be back in operation.  According to Gary Kline of New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation, who shared the news with Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus, the "City will start the initial pump test of the Flushing Tunnel in the next 2-3 weeks."

According to Kline, "there are three pumps in the Flushing Station, each will be brought on line in a scheduled series of pump equipment test. All three pumps should be fully operational by late March."

Prior to the initial tests, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection will install a pair of temporary silt curtains across the Canal.  "The silt curtains will slow water velocities and impede sediment from being transferred from the upper canal as the pumping is brought on line," Kline explains.

When re-started, the flushing tunnel will bring water into the canal from the East River and from Buttermilk Channel, which will significantly improve water quality.

The equipment has been out of commission since 2009, when the City began to upgrade both the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel and the Waste Water Pumping Station.
The upgrades cost $190 million and were supposed to already be completed.  The project, ran into delays when flood waters submerged the new equipment during Hurricane Sandy.

The sewage pump station upgrade is also progressing.  Gary Kline reports that it "should be available for initial testing late spring."

The huge  pipe that had been installed in the Gowanus as an interim oxygenation system will be dismantled this winter.