Saratoga’s real 💧 water story
The photo, the parent reactions, and the $395 filter worth buying. Plus: 🏇 NYRA, DraftKings and Dylan Davis updates ahead of tomorrow's big day.
Who’s thirsty?
TGIF.
— Abby
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Saratoga’s real 💧 water story
While the politicians get to work, what’s really happening inside Saratoga homes right now when it comes to our water?
It’s certainly been a different kind of water chatter for us here in Saratoga.
The crisis? Water that’s sometimes milky (see above) and can smell like “a faucet on your Clorox bottle!!!!,” according to one poster on Nextdoor.
And for now, any filtration systems have to be purchased at the owner’s expense.
“We are paying the town of Saratoga for acceptable water and not receiving this,” wrote one poster on Nextdoor.
“Yet another expense,” agreed another, in response to expensive filtration ideas.
By now, most of us — but certainly not all, which is yet another concern — have received two letters from the Saratoga Springs Department of Public Works regarding elevated levels of Trihalomethanes (THMs) in the city’s water supply. The first one (in January) alerted us; the second (last week) claimed that the elevated levels were “caused by disturbing the bottom of the lake as a result of the Loughberry Lake dam construction activity just a few hours before that specific sample was taken.”
“Not an emergency,” they assure us.
Are the residents who received this notice appeased? Not by a long shot.
Seeking answers, many a group chat turned to Google. And yikes: Chronic exposure to high levels of THMs have potential health risks from different forms of cancer, plus negative impacts on the liver, kidney and nervous system, according to a 2025 systematic review published in Science of the Total Environment.
“I have a filter on my showerhead, and all our drinking water comes from the springs in the park,” says Saratoga resident Laura Tilton. “But my son loves eating ice, so that worries me. I also found the city handling of it to be very non-transparent and confusing. Only some people got the notice?” (Abby and I can confirm: We didn’t get one.)
“This is NOT a little thing,” agreed a second poster on Nextdoor. “The fact that the bill came earlier than normal so the water contamination flyer would be enclosed is a red flag.”
A concerned mother myself, I began my mission for a budget-friendly filtration system…here’s what I found.
Can’t afford a whole-house filtration? Here’s the $395 version worth buying
If, like me, you don’t have the budget to install a whole-house water filtration system (which often costs thousands), there are options.
I have 13-year-old twins, and the idea of giving them water loaded with THMs filled me with panic — and yet, I didn’t have the financial bandwidth or time to purchase, research and install a vast water filtration program.
After a few hours of light internet research, I discovered the Berkey. For less than $400, it filters out a wide range of contaminants — including THMs, plus heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, VOCs, rust and silt. Beneficial minerals remain.
In and in.
If only it were that easy, however…
When it arrived, I excitedly opened the box only to discover a (to me) daunting multiplicity of essential components. I washed everything, attempted to assemble it, failed, cried, watched a video or 23, and tried again. There were more tears because I’m lame and don’t like assembling things.
After multiple tries, and a little assistance, I got it together — myself mentally, then the Berkey — and after a few weeks of treating it like a weird spaceship that landed on our counter, my kids now faithfully use it for their drinking water, and I use it for my drinking and their cooking water.
We don’t brush our teeth using Berkey water, and we still have besmirched shower water.
Until we get better answers, I’m glad I have my Berkey.
— Kathleen
🏇 HEADS UP
Now that FanDuel TV is phasing out, NYRA is scrambling to fill the gap by expanding its FOX Sports programming and exploring a new RedZone-style digital channel covering races seven days a week, reports BloodHorse.
New York is not yet among the 26 states that have rolled out DraftKings Racing — the integrated horse racing product embedded directly inside the DraftKings Sportsbook app — with Delaware, New Mexico, and Rhode Island being the three most recent additions, according to iGaming Europe.
Saratoga’s own Dylan Davis is scheduled to ride in the Gazelle tomorrow, a little more than a month before his comeback from injury. Then the road to the Kentucky Derby continues with the Wood Memorial Stakes. It all goes down at Aqueduct.
📰 IN BRIEF
Trout season has officially started all across New York State — but conditions vary, and Adirondack Explorer has the details.
Bonacio has plans to build 25 condos on a just-purchased property, reports Albany Business Review.
📌 ICYMI…
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