using kite and balloon aerials to identify gowanus canal water pollution sources
DESCRIPTION
This is draft discussion material that was prepared as part of a slide show for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s first ever 2012 Citizen Science “Success Stories for Water”, focusing on how local citizens can use simple tools to identify water pollution issues in their backyards, to support Superfund and City cleanup programs. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy’s Low Altitude Mapping Program partners with the Gowanus Dredger’s Canoe Club to record existing successes, identify opportunity sites for new storm water management parks, and record environmental problems. In 2012, the program also expanded into preservation concerns, mapping historic sites and buried streams. Helium is provided by Liberty Industrial Gases. Prepared as a discussion tool by Liz Barry, Shannon Dosemagen, and Eymund Diegel using community generated aerial photographs from the Gowanus Citizen Aerial Mapping Team.TRANSCRIPT
Grassroots Mapping Creating cheap open source aerial imagery and data for Community efforts to cleanup a polluted neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, USA
Bringing memories and fun back to civic data
Public Laboratory for Open Technology & Science
Kite Photographed “Grassroots” Crop Marks of Roman Buildings, Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy, Flickr, Paolo Opaxir, May 2008
Unless stated otherwise, all photo credits are Grassrootsmapping.org, 2011
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Brouwer’s Bridge Site
A Historic Revolutionary War Bridge: Location of a strategic 1776 Battle of Brooklyn conflict.
Overlay from 1766 Ratzer map 2011 Balloon Canoe Aerial courtesy of Gowanus Canal Conservancy / Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club
Sample Balloon Aerial for Community Advocacy for a Potential Boat House & Memorial Bridge on EPA Superfund Site
2012: A weekly Citizen water quality testing program with the River Project
Goal: make the Gowanus Canal swimmable
What Kind of Water Quality Do You Think We’ll Need ?
Winnie the Pooh says:
By improving most polluted tributaries we bring up everyone’s water quality
We need to target worst areas first for new sewer and storm water projects
Sample Aerial of how pictures are used for planning water filtering parks & pipe mapping
Sample Aerial of how pictures are used for planning water filtering parks
Water Sensitive Urban Design How can cheap High resolution aerials help ?
1766 Historical Watershed Modeling by Lucas Kronawitter, 2011 ArcHydro Watershed Flow Map by Eymund Diegel, 2010 Grass by Albrecht Durer, 1503
Sites for which we we want aerial data :
versus ECOLOGICAL WATER CYCLE
URBAN WATER CYCLE
IT RAINS
WATER GOES INTO PIPE
CONDENSATION
EVAPORATION
INFILTRATION
IT RAINS
SOME WATER GOES INTO PIPE
WE ARE LOOKING FOR GOOD INFILTRATION SITES
Being able to see the vegetation is important:
Brouwers Brook Restoration (Degraw Street Bioswale)
Mapping the historic streams of the Gowanus Canal for daylighting & restoration plans
Are there clues in the water’s color ?
ASSIST CITY IN THEIR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING
1766 stream
Overlay from 1766 Ratzer map, 2011 Balloon Canoe Aerial courtesy of Gowanus Canal Conservancy / Gowanus Dredgers
Ate Atema Architects First Street Basin redevelopment proposal
SECOND AVE STREET END & GOWANUS CANAL AERIAL SHOWS USE OF PUBLIC STREET BY MARMURSTEIN BUS DEPOT AS OUTDOOR MOTOR YARD & CONSEQUENT ILLEGAL MOTOR OIL SPILLS
27 March 2011 Grassroots Mapping Kite Aerial
Sample Aerial of how pictures are used for monitoring water quality pollution sources
4TH STREET BASIN
Old Stone House / Byrne Park
Historic Streams Diverted into Sewer during 1850’s and causing overflows ?
HISTORIC FLOOD MANAGEMENT ISSUES dlandstudio / Gowanus Canal Conservancy
Denton’s Pond
5TH STREET BASIN: CAN IT’S CONTAMINATED FILL BE CLEANED OUT AND THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY BE RESTORED AS A FLOODWAY CONNECTION TO J.J. BYRNE PARK ?
BOND STREET COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW (RH 35)
Lucas Kronawitter
1766 NATURAL WATER SHED
2011 PIPED SYSTEM
MARYLANDER SITE: IF CONFIRMED, SHOULD BE INTEGRATE IT INTO 6TH STREET BLUEWAY (BEING BUILT) TO PROTECT IT AS A MEMORIAL OPEN SPACE?
1776 Battle of Brooklyn Johnson Map
27 August 1776 – Delaware & Maryland Regiments stranded when Brouwer’s Bridge blown up 256 of them buried in lost mass grave near 8th Street & 3rd Ave
Battle of Brooklyn
Original Stone House location
Denton’s Mill Battle Site
Brouwer’s Mill Bridge
Marylander’s Burial Ground
Veterans Monument
Presumed Grave Location
Potential Alternative Burial Ground
Battle Site /Potential Second Burial Ground
Old Stone House Battle Site
Battle Site & Historic Dam
Battle of Brooklyn Sites dlandstudio / Gowanus Canal Conservancy SPONGE PARK PLAN
HISTORIC 1776 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE SITES
( May have been relocated to Greenwood Cemetery – being researched by FROGG archeologists )
1776 OLD STONE HOUSE BATTLE
Old Stone House Battle Site
1850 Willard Day 8th Street and Third Ave Cut and Fill Survey for the regrading of 8th Street Source: Bob Furman 2012 Marylander Research Archives
“Marylander” Hill before it was lowered by 1 or 2 feet during 1850’s road construction
We allowed a Public Waterway and Revolutionary Battle Site to become a Chemical Garbage Dump, and for America’s First Military Graveyard to be forgotten vacant lot … What will be our Historical Legacy ?
We must now restore these HISTORIC SITES and integrate them with the City Green Infrastructure Plan and the Superfund Improvement Program
Better Citizen Science aerials can help by making high quality data and community research available
What do YOU think ?
This presentation available at: www.proteusgowanus.org in the Hall of the Gowanus archive
For aerials or data contact [email protected]