Use the reporting route that matches where you see the pollution. For raw sewage, an unusual color, floating debris, or a suspected illicit discharge in the canal, submit a NYC311 Waterway Complaint. For oil or gasoline on the water, call the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center at (800) 424-8802; NYC311 lists that line as available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If liquid is being poured into a street sewer grate or catch basin, use NYC311’s Dumping in Catch Basin category. For past or recurring trash dumping, use the NYC311 illegal-dumping route listed by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
From a safe public location, record the exact place, time, appearance, weather, recent rainfall, and any person, vehicle, or business involved. Photos or video can be attached to a NYC311 report when practical. Do not touch the water, collect a sample, approach an active spill, or confront anyone.
Choose the correct reporting route
The first decision is whether the material is already in the canal or is entering a street sewer or catch basin. The second is what the material appears to be. Oil and gasoline require a separate, round-the-clock spill hotline; other waterway conditions generally enter through NYC311.
| What you observe | Where it is observed | Report to | Urgency or special note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw sewage, an unusual color, floating debris, trash, or a suspected illicit discharge | In the Gowanus Canal or at a canal outfall | NYC311 Waterway Complaint | Routine municipal intake; give the precise location and description |
| Oil sheen, gasoline, or another petroleum-looking release | On the canal water | U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center, (800) 424-8802 | NYC311 lists the line as available 24/7 |
| Sewage, wastewater, pool water, grease, gasoline, oil, cement, or chemicals being poured or washed into a drain | Street sewer grate or catch basin | NYC311 Dumping in Catch Basin | Describe the drain, the discharge, and the person, vehicle, or business if visible |
| Past or chronic dumping of trash or debris | Canal edge, nearby public area, or recurring dumping location | NYC311 illegal-dumping route listed by DEP | Include dates, frequency, accumulated material, and location details |
Reporting raw sewage, unusual color, debris, or a suspected illicit discharge
Use NYC311 Waterway Complaint
NYC DEP identifies the NYC311 Waterway Complaint category for floatables, trash, oil, gasoline, sewage, unusual color, and potential illicit discharges. Select that category when the problem is visible in the canal, at the canal bank, or at an outfall leading into the water. Do not choose the catch-basin category merely because the canal is nearby; use the location where the material is actually entering the environment.
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Prepare the report before opening the intake
Write down the canal-side address or nearest cross street. If there is no street number, identify a fixed landmark, bridge, pier, outfall, or recognizable bank feature and explain which side of the canal you are on. Note the date and exact time, weather, and whether rain has recently occurred. Combined-sewer overflows are especially relevant after rain, so that timing helps investigators interpret what they see.
Describe the material without guessing at its chemical identity. State whether it looks gray, brown, black, white, rainbow-colored, cloudy, or otherwise unusual; estimate the visible area; note floating solids or debris; describe any odor; and say whether the material is stationary, spreading, or moving with the current. If you saw a discharge emerge from a pipe, ditch, vessel, or property, identify that point as precisely as possible.
Submit useful evidence
NYC311 supports picture or video attachments for this type of complaint. Take them only from a safe public position. A wide image showing the canal and nearby landmarks can establish location, while a closer image can show color, solids, or a sheen. Keep the original files if you can, and note when each image was taken. Do not lean over a railing, enter restricted property, or step into the water to obtain a better view.
Reporting oil sheen or gasoline on the water
Call the National Response Center
For an oil sheen or gasoline visible on the Gowanus, call the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center at (800) 424-8802. NYC311 identifies this as the route for oil or gasoline in a New York City waterway and lists it as available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is the appropriate first report when the petroleum-like material is already floating on the canal, regardless of whether you know its source.
Describe what responders need to triage the spill
Give the caller the canal-side address or nearest cross street, the time you noticed the sheen, its approximate length or width, and whether it is expanding or moving. Explain the apparent color and pattern: a thin rainbow film, a dark patch, a strong fuel odor, or visible droplets are more useful descriptions than a conclusion about the product. Mention rain, wind, tide or current that you can observe, and identify any nearby outfall, vessel, work site, or vehicle only if you can do so without approaching danger.
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Do not try to contain, absorb, skim, or sample the sheen. Petroleum can be hazardous even when the visible film is thin, and disturbing the water can spread contamination or expose you to vapors.
Reporting liquid dumped into a street sewer or catch basin
Use NYC311 Dumping in Catch Basin
Choose NYC311’s Dumping in Catch Basin category when you see liquid being poured, pumped, hosed, or washed into a street grate or catch basin. DEP’s category includes sewage, wastewater, pool water, food grease, gasoline, oil, cement, and chemicals. The report applies to the act of putting material into the drain, even when you cannot see where the pipe ultimately discharges.
Record the activity, not just the residue
If the dumping is occurring, note the time, direction of flow, grate or basin location, approximate volume or duration, and the source container, hose, truck, or pipe. Describe the person, vehicle, company markings, or business involved when possible, but do not follow, block, or confront anyone. If the activity has stopped, explain what remains on the pavement and whether it is moving toward the drain.
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Reporting illegal dumping of trash or debris
Use the DEP-listed NYC311 illegal-dumping route
For a pile of refuse, repeated dumping, or debris left along the canal or a nearby public area, use the NYC311 illegal-dumping route listed by DEP. Explain whether the problem is a single event or a recurring pattern. Include the exact location, the dates or times you have observed it, the type and approximate amount of debris, and whether it is blocking access, entering the water, or breaking apart and floating away.
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Separate historic debris from an active discharge
A stationary pile of old trash belongs in the illegal-dumping route. If you see someone actively throwing material into the canal, describe the active event and the person, vehicle, or business if you can do so safely. If liquid is entering a street drain, report that separate observation through Dumping in Catch Basin. Multiple reports can be appropriate when the locations or conduct are distinct; do not combine unrelated sites into one vague description.
What to record before submitting any report
- Location: Canal-side street address or nearest cross street, plus a landmark, outfall, bridge, or bank side.
- Time: Date and approximate start time; for recurring dumping, list each observed date or a clear pattern.
- Weather: Current conditions and whether there was recent rainfall.
- Appearance: Color, clarity, sheen, solids, foam, sediment, or unusual surface film.
- Extent: Approximate length or width and whether the material is spreading, drifting, or entering from a particular point.
- Odor: Fuel, sewage, solvent, chemical, or another recognizable smell, without placing yourself close enough to inhale fumes.
- Source: Outfall, pipe, vessel, hose, truck, property, person, vehicle, or business, if visible from a safe public position.
- Evidence: Photos or video that show both the condition and its location.
Use observed facts rather than a speculative diagnosis. “Brown-gray water with a sewage odor emerging from the outfall at 2:15 p.m.” gives an investigator a clearer starting point than “toxic waste.”
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Keep your distance
Do not touch the water, sediment, floating material, or residue on pavement. Do not collect a sample for a personal test or carry a container to an agency. Sampling and handling can expose you to pathogens, petroleum, solvents, or other contaminants and can compromise an official investigation.
Do not approach or confront a suspected dumper
Remain in a safe public place. Do not block a truck, argue with a worker, enter private property, or follow a departing vehicle. Record identifying details only when you can do so without increasing risk.
Leave an immediate danger
If people are in immediate danger, vapors are overwhelming, fire is present, a person has been injured, or the bank or roadway is unsafe, move away and use emergency services. The cited NYC311 pages do not specify an additional Gowanus-specific emergency number. Do not delay a life-safety response while trying to complete a pollution complaint.
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What happens after a NYC311 complaint
Give investigators a condition they can locate
The address, cross street, time, weather, and direction of movement determine whether inspectors can find the same condition. A report that says only “pollution in the Gowanus” may be impossible to match to a pipe, bank segment, or catch basin. Include the nearest fixed reference even when the discharge is temporary.
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Understand the inspection requirement
DEP states that an inspector must observe a condition in person for a summons or a Commissioner’s order. Your photos, video, and detailed account can help establish timing and location, but they do not guarantee that an enforcement action will be issued. A condition may have dispersed before an inspector arrives, especially after rain or changing currents.
Keep the report focused
If you observe a new discharge after submitting an earlier complaint, make a new report with the new time and conditions. For a persistent site, identify the earlier pattern in your description while still documenting the current observation. This creates a usable chronology instead of one report containing several unconnected events.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why pollution reports matter in the Gowanus
The Gowanus Canal is an EPA Superfund site. EPA describes historic wastes associated with manufactured-gas, paper, tannery, and chemical operations, and says sewer overflows continue to bring sanitary waste, stormwater, and industrial pollutants into the canal. That history means an unusual discharge can be relevant even when its source is not immediately obvious.
EPA’s 2021 order required New York City to construct and operate two combined-sewer-overflow retention tanks to control contaminated solids discharges. DEP’s current project webpage says the two tanks will intercept and store up to 12 million gallons of combined sewage that otherwise could overflow into the canal during rainstorms. Those controls address a major pathway, but they do not make every visible sheen, color change, or dumping event harmless or automatically explain its source.
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Decision examples
Gray water appears at an outfall after heavy rain
Photograph it from a safe public position, note the outfall and nearest cross street, record the rainfall and time, and submit a NYC311 Waterway Complaint. Describe the color, odor, visible solids, and direction of flow. Do not assume that every post-rain release is permitted or that every release is an illicit connection.
A rainbow film spreads beside a bulkhead
Move away from the water and call the Coast Guard National Response Center. Report the location, size, movement, odor, and nearby possible source only if visible without approaching it. Do not attempt to absorb or collect the film.
A contractor hoses liquid toward a curb grate
From a safe distance, record the grate location, time, liquid appearance, hose or vehicle, and any business identification. Submit NYC311’s Dumping in Catch Basin complaint. If the liquid also reaches the canal and appears oily, make the appropriate waterway or oil-spill report as a separate observation.
Trash accumulates at the same bank every weekend
Use the DEP-listed NYC311 illegal-dumping route. List the dates, approximate amount and type of debris, exact location, and whether pieces are entering the canal. If you witness an active dumping event, add the observable person or vehicle details without confronting anyone.
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Quick checklist
- Identify whether the material is in the canal, on the canal bank, or entering a street drain.
- Choose Waterway Complaint, Dumping in Catch Basin, the DEP-listed illegal-dumping route, or the Coast Guard hotline based on that observation.
- Record the exact location, time, weather, recent rain, appearance, odor, spread, movement, and visible source.
- Take photos or video only from a safe public position.
- Do not touch, sample, approach, confront, or attempt to clean up the material.
- If there is immediate danger, leave and use emergency services before making a routine complaint.
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