New Developments in the Fight for Clean Water
New Developments in the Fight for Clean Water
by Declan Kaasler
Restoring What Was Lost
Before the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century to what is now New York City, the native Lenape people enjoyed clear and pristine waterways. They survived in part thanks to its now-vanished biodiversity. The waters which today carry cruise ships and recreational yachts, were once the home of seals, sturgeons, oysters, and countless other marine organisms. They eventually vanished, along with the rest of that natural world.
Beginning in the 18th century, New York City’s waterways began to become severely polluted. This troubling trend accelerated in the 19th century with the sudden onset of the Industrial Revolution. At the time, the public will was focused on rapid advancement, infrastructure, and economic improvement.
Ecological stewardship was largely unheard of, and numerous upstate industrialists began using the Hudson river to dump any and all waste, with no filtering or treatment of it beforehand. This sadly continued into the 20th century, with large corporations such as General Electric using the Hudson River as a dumping area for unfiltered and untreated chemical waste.
The Clean Water Act of 1972 eventually was a pivotal first step in undoing the decades of damage done to the city’s waters, though even today the lingering effects of that period can still be felt. The once numerous oyster population served as a natural filter for the marine ecosystem around the city, but they were virtually wiped out through overfishing and increasingly toxic water.
Fast forward to January 2024, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams made a promising public announcement alongside New York Governor, Kathy Hochul. A new joint initiative, “+ POOL” was revealed, supported by both the State and City governments. + POOL is an exciting new project for New York City which will provide large-scale and portable filtration of the waterways, in addition to expanded swimming access to the city’s residents.
+ POOL floats atop the water, actively purifying the water that flows through its filters. It promises to work so effectively that New Yorkers will be able to swim in the water it will pull in.
Forever Chemicals
New York City’s new + POOL will become a crucial tool in the fight to clean and restore the waterways. When it comes online, it will begin to reverse decades of environmental neglect. Simply filtering and purifying may not be sufficient to achieve a sustainable long term reduction in the amount of pollutants present.
There are some synthetic chemicals out there, collectively known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have taken on the moniker of, “Forever Chemicals”. They’ve gained that name for being infamously persistent in nature. When these forever chemicals contaminate an area of soil or water, they can last for thousands of years before breaking down.
PFAS were first discovered in the 20th Century, and they were quickly adopted into various consumer products for their useful properties. One of the more well-known of these substances was Teflon. Though it was originally praised for its non-stick properties on cookware, it has more recently been the subject of public scorn as the extent of its environmental harms came to light.
Other common household items contain these forever chemicals, including certain cosmetics, waterproof outdoor clothing, and even bags of microwave popcorn! Luckily, there is increasing awareness today of the harms these PFAS pose to our world. Governmental and industry regulations are phasing them out with safer alternatives.
Filtering Water With….Fungi?
The monumental task of cleaning the earth’s waterways calls for innovative and bold efforts. For those fighting to protect the natural world, experimentation and exploration of novel solutions has led to exciting breakthroughs. One such breakthrough was achieved by a joint effort between the Ocean Blue Project, and students from Oregon State University.
From 2013 until 2017, Ocean Blue Project and OSU collaborated in a series of field experiments around the waterways of Corvallis, Oregon. Mycofiltration, or filtration involving live fungi, was proposed as a way to reduce the amount of pollutants in road runoff that were afflicting local bodies of water like Sequoia Creek. It was believed that mycelium has natural filtering properties, and would offer a cost-effective and low-tech method of filtering large amounts of water efficiently.
The volunteers and Ocean Blue Project filled a series of burlap sacks with coffee grounds and straw, to serve as substrate. After seeding the substrate with mushroom spores, the “mycofilters” were carefully placed around storm drains to catch and filter the water runoff. To deter passers-by from potentially eating the toxic fungi, warning signs were carefully placed around the vicinity of the experimental mycofilters.
In order to test the effectiveness of mycofiltration, water samples were collected from before and after having passed through the filters. The project made national headlines in 2014 when it was discovered that the mycelium was in fact reducing the concentration of waterborne pollutants!
Following this success story, Ocean Blue Project continued researching and experimenting on the connection between fungi and environmental pollutants. In tandem with Dr. Kenneth Cullings of NASA, OBP decided to analyze beach sand in coastal Oregon, focusing on the transition zone between microplastic-laden sand, and sand that was free of microplastics.
The researchers involved used a variety of parameters in their analysis, including stereomicroscopy, and DNA sequencing. The DNA Sequencing revealed the presence of several distinct fungi that had colonized only the sand with microplastics. The most prevalent of these fungi were Penicillium and Acremonium.
Those two free-living fungi were identified as potentially useful in breaking down microplastic buildup in the future. The researchers concluded that these fungi species warranted further investigation, and could pave the way towards future advancements in breaking down environmental plastics.
In addition, the analysis identified another, more concerning pathogenic fungus known as Malassezia. This wild yeast, which causes an assortment of infections in human skin, could pose a health hazard to future beachgoers if it spreads further throughout the world’s beach environments.
Modern industrial society has surely left a severe and lasting scar across the natural world. Especially vulnerable are our oceans, rivers, and lakes, which are all interconnected and equally vulnerable. Clearly, there is no single answer. There is no single solution that can undo centuries of our collective mismanagement of nature, but long term and lasting results can still be achieved through thoughtful planning and action.
New York City’s floating pools offer a testing ground for other major waterfront cities, showing the world what is possible. Our increasing awareness of the harms of Forever Chemicals can help us make more informed decisions in manufacturing. And mycofiltration has already proven itself in a real world setting.
What can you do to contribute to this long term collective project? Get involved! Be aware of which consumer products contain these dangerous chemicals, and support brands and companies that take a stance against them. You can also visit the official OBP blog to learn more about their ongoing volunteer cleanup operations.
Author Bio: Declan Kaasler is a passionate content writer and blogger from New York City. His cosmopolitan hometown has shaped his worldview to look at life with an open mind and a desire to enjoy the rich tapestry of world cultures. He wants a cleaner, more responsible future for the natural world around him