Residents Happy To See Cleanup Begin At Gowanus Canal Superfund Site

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents in the area around the Gowanus Canal are happy to see remediation finally begin.

"We've been doing a lot of work in all of our meetings hearing about these activities and to see them actually moving forward at this point is pretty exciting," Marlene Donnelly said.

As 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman reported, the canal was designated as a superfund site almost seven years ago.

Debris removal began on Monday, with barges bringing up smaller boats at the 4th Street Turning Basin followed by smaller debris over the next few weeks.

The EPA will be back to dredge next year, it's part of a pilot before tackling all 1.8 miles of the canal.

"We'll be evaluating the techniques that we've used to maximize the efficiency of it, and then we'll start at the head of the canal," Natalie Loney of the EPA said.

The whole project is expected to be completed by 2022.