Kenny Crandall
Lambertville
Thank you, Kara Hughes, for the update on the problems with Lambertville’s water.
To express my reaction to the knowledge that Anabaena is present in our water is in one word called “scared.”
To think our water is unsafe cuts to the core. We rely upon this water to drink, bath, shower, brush our teeth, and cook our food. Yet, our local water is unsafe. It is contaminated with a known neurotoxin and hepatotoxin called Anabaena — an algae that is known to damage human brains and poison people’s livers.
Because our water contains a known neurotoxin, each of us should be asking ourselves whether we are aware of any clusters (or unusually high rates) of dementia, Alzheimer’s, autism, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), etc. in Lambertville. In other words, do we know of people who have a neurological disease that surprises us?
Similarly, we should be asking whether we have observed too many people in town with liver disease.
One would never think to ask these questions under normal circumstances, but in light of the information we now have about our water being contaminated, we must.
Readers may be asking: “How is Anabaena toxic?”
During an algae bloom — like the one that occurred at the Lambertville reservoir — the toxins are contained within the algae cells. When these cells are ingested, they break open in the stomach and the toxins are released. Alternatively, after an algae bloom ends and the algae die, the toxins are released into the water where they can be directly ingested.
It takes only a few drops of this toxic water for it to be harmful to people and pets.

