MAP:

OBSERVATIONS/SITES:

1. This is the site of the Newtown Creek Waste Water Treatment Facility taken at 5:25. Not only the complexity of the entire system shocked me, but the actual shape of these specific “egg” looking structures was intriguing. I was wondering if maybe the structure has to be this shape because of the specific process to clean the water? Interesting to note that 1.4 billion gallons of water are processed in one day here.

2. This was taken at the site of the Newtown Creek Water Waste Facility at 5:20. This specific circular instrument in the right hand corner of the picture intrigued me. What exactly is the role of it is in the process to make the water clean?

3. These pictures were taken at 5:15 of the trash area while traveling through the Newtown Creek. I was shocked with the amount of trash. I had trouble hearing on the trip so I think I missed the explanation of what exactly this place is but it was crazy to see this amount of waste in one place… and then to realize that this is only the tiniest little bit of the waste in the whole world.

4. This photo was taken at 5:12 while traveling down the Newtown Creek to get to the Waste Water Treatment Plant. I took a picture of it because of the name. The trucks have “City of Harvest” written on them. I was interested in what this means, and if it is a company that works for the city of New York to help sustainability or possibly something with farming.

5. This photo was taken at 4:50 near Governor’s Island. Yes it is the type of iconic Statue of Liberty picture, but I took it for more reasons than just that. I was curious if landfill has increased the island that the Statue of Liberty stands on like it has to the coastline of Manhattan. I also took this photo because the water seems so beautiful and clear which seemed ironic because the water is actually extremely gross and polluted.

 

OBSERVATIONS WITHOUT PICTURES:

• rainwater and human waste is combined in the same pipe(s)… seems very inefficient
• water isn’t clean- I saw pieces of garbage floating around many times
• lots of boats out on the water- all using gas/oil that is probably adding to the water pollution

 

GUIDED QUESTIONS:

• In what ways did we experience water?

We were experience water because we were on a boat, so though a transportation way. Also a human/land system and water relationship was seen through the piers where businesses sometimes have storage/areas there, wastewater treatment plants- specifically seeing Newtown Creek plant, many bridges we passes, and other boats and how they interact with each other.

• How is freshwater connected to the urban ecosystem?

Freshwater is connected to the urban ecosystem through the usage of waste water treatment plants and facilities. Using technology and these plants, urban areas are able to get freshwater even though the waste and sewer pipes are not set up in the best way possible for the city (which ends up with sewer potentially in the water).

• What evidence did you collect to ascertain the health/quality of the Lower Hudson River/New York Harbor estuary?

I saw that the health/quality of the Lower Hudson River/New York Harbor estuary is not very high. In the water, I could see waste in it at points during the trip. Buildings along the trip looked like they were in very poor condition and that paint from the buildings and possibly parts of them were going into the water. There was very little evidence of wildlife, which also makes me come to this conclusion. What I know about the oyster project off of Governor’s Island tells me that the Hudson is not a very clean river.

• What new evidence would you collect to help ascertain water quality, in light of these biological, chemical, and physical factors we observed?

I would want to test the water for specific chemicals to try and understand what exactly is polluting the water and making it so awful. I would want to know more of the hard facts about what exactly is in the water.