The technical term for what happens to the Gowanus during a storm is “CSOs.” The layman’s description of what happens is that sewers (both storm drains and toilets) flow right into the canal. On Sunday, the canal overflowed its banks in places during the Nor’easter, leaving behind filthy & toxics puddles.l This is what the canal looked like after the storm resulted in who-knows-how-much sewage and garbage flowing into it, as per a photo shot and posted to flickr by Kio. Ick.

The graphic below was posted by the Urban Divers. The images are, unfortunately, small, but they give a sense of what was going on during the storm. The verbiage that goes with the graphic notes, “The community was innundated by flooding. The Gowanus Canal cesspool flooded 50 ft upland at the site that our action took place. [2nd Street and the Canal] Hundreds on homes in the watershed experienced a flooding event.” The image was posted as part of Step it Up 2007’s flickr photostream.