February in Albany, New York is not a thirst-inspiring time. Most of the Hudson River is covered in ice and the sunset comes with the disappointment of sub-zero temperatures. The cold must creep through the ground and into the pipes. The sink pours a chilled stream of water into my glass.

The water comes out with a milkiness from tiny bubbles that quickly clear away–perhaps due to this particular sink nozzle. The first sip pleases with a silkiness that spreads down the tongue. The water feels like a wide glass marble on the tongue and tastes as if it were dipped in a pool of lake weeds. Far more organic than mineral, but not unpleasant. After swallowing, the flavor sticks around with a faint sour chalkiness. Overall, a solid, non-offensive water. 

Albany draws its municipal water from the Alcove Reservoir in the nearby town of Coeymans. In 2021, the city’s water department facilitated the treatment of 5,969,220,945 gallons of water by re-oxidation, disinfection, coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and pH and alkalinity adjustment for corrosion control, as well as chlorination. In addition to supplying potable water to the residents of Albany, the city’s water department has agreements to redirect treated water to the neighboring towns of Colonie, Guilderland, and Bethlehem when demand exceeds their local production capacity. The water is up to all federal standards. 

The history of Albany’s drinking water, though, is a bit less clean. The earliest Europeans to settle in the city were the Dutch. During the 1600s, they apparently installed underground troughs covered in wood slats that brought spring water into the new settlement. This may have been one of the earliest public water systems in America (Fisher).

In the following century, this system was not always used, or did not supply sufficient drinking water for the town’s needs. In 1748, a naturalist from Sweden named Peter Kalm visited Albany and left a brutal review of its drinking water: 

“I have several times been obliged to drink water here, in which I have plainly seen monculi [likely an organism] swimming; but I generally felt the next day something like a pea in my throat, or as if I had a swelling there, and this continued about a week…My servant, Yongstroem, likewise got a great pain in his breast, and a sensation as from a swelling after drinking water with monoculi in it…Almost each house in Albany has its well, and the water of which is applied to common use; but for tea, brewing, and washing they commonly take the water of the Hudson, which flows close by the town. This water is generally quite muddy, and very warm in summer; and on that account it is kept in cellars, in order that the slime may subside, and that the water may cool a little.”

It is likely that by the mid 18th century, Albanians were relying primarily on well water, which could be contaminated, or the Hudson. 

At the beginning of the 1800s, a private utility opened to supply the city with water. It drew water from local streams and kills. Drinking water from a kill? Well, for a Dutch settlement the technical geographical term was more common and just meant a river or creek. Bu the city had grown considerably thanks to the Erie Canal and the public demanded that the utility be taken over by the city. The city assumed control over the water system in 1850. 

Under public management, Albany sourced its drinking water in three different ways over time. From 1850 until 1875, Albany dammed the Patroon Stream which flooded and became Rensselaer Lake. (Barnes) Then, in 1875, Albany decided to go back to pumping directly from the Hudson River. A pump house was built along the shore of the river which could pump 10 million gallons in 24 hours (Fisher). The structure still stands today and houses C.H. Evans Brewery. 

The Hudson was an unsanitary choice for drinking water. The city upstream, Troy, dumped its sewage in the river, and Albany’s sewage would also recirculate in the river near the water intake. (Barnes) Originally, the pump station only used copper mesh to filter the water, but the contaminants in the water called for more advanced treatment. Complex sand filters, some of the finest in America at the time, were installed.

In 1926, Albany turned away from the Hudson. The city decided to source its water from the Helderburgs, a mountainous escarpment west of Albany. The water department built a 20 mile long pipe and developed Alcove Reservoir, which is still in use today.

In his history of Albany’s water works, Joseph Barnes wrote, “In New York State, geology and climate have made the task [of supplying safe and abundant water] a relatively easy one.” But it seems that Albany has had its struggles. Nevertheless, a class of Albany tap is a fine way to stay hydrated and healthy today.