True, "all water filters get very funky after a year", that funkiness is an indication of the true quality of the water that reaches your house or apartment.
That's how you tell what you'd have been drinking without filtration.
You seem really bothered by this. What did you see in your filter after a year? Some tiny amount of algae? Some mineral deposits? Do you prefer your water taste like a chlorinated pool?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_water_supply_sys...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/24/nyregion/how-n...
Anyway, all water filters get very funky after a year.