Fragile Waterways (2010)

Fragile Waterways travels to neighborhoods in Brooklyn, NY, the Great Lakes, Finger Lakes and Long Island to look at the challenges communities are facing as they clean up, restore and protect their lakes, canals, rivers, and the water they drink. In Brooklyn, a debate rages among residents and government agencies on how to best clean-up and develop the much maligned and long-polluted Gowanus Canal. On Long Island, it's a family affair on the Peconic Bay - a father changes career to grow boutique oysters, while his son works to restore a critical fish habitat. In the Finger Lakes region some residents are hoping a new drilling technology that can extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale that lies beneath their land will bring prosperity to their economically depressed region, while others fear the effects of the technology on their drinking water. And near the Great Lakes, change is in the water, as the consequences of invasive species are becoming more and more evident.