PHOTO: Two cars pulled out from Gowanus Canal December 16, 2020, by Eldin Ganic The Gowanus Canal is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States, and the communities around it have been advocating for it to be cleaned for decades. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month officially started historic full-scale dredging of this canal in Brooklyn, New York. According to EPA, the dredging and capping will take place in the upper canal – denominated as Remediation Target Area (RTA) 1 – which includes the 1st Street turning basin and a portion of the 5th Street turning basin.