In 1974, Scotto brought microbiologists from the New York City Community College (now New York City College of Technology, or City Tech) to test the Gowanus Canal's water for bacteria. The organisms they found included typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and tuberculosis. The next year, funding was obtained for a preliminary assessment of the canal. Initial findings revealed an almost total absence of oxygen, much raw sewage, grease, oil, and sludge. In 1978, construction began on the Red Hook Sewage Treatment plant in Vinegar Hill that had been planned since the 1950s.