Not all water on Whidbey Island is the same. A few neighborhoods have wonderfully clear water, but most don’t. Because the island is made of alluvial soil from the glaciers, there are a lot of minerals in the water, which stain household fixtures and make the water hard. Most wells also have iron and manganese, both of which create bacteria, and these minerals produce a bacteria that will coat the inside linings of the pipes. Iron creates an iron bacteria that leaves a brown slime inside the pipes. Over time this residue builds up, shrinking the interior pipe diameter and restricting the water flow. When this bacteria dies, it creates sulfur, which in turn creates sulfur bacteria. When sulfur bacteria dies and decays, it puts off a smelly gas like rotten eggs. Because bacteria also grows in hot water tanks, these tanks should be drained every six months. What we notice is horrible, stinky, thick, brown, bad-tasting water that stains all the house water fixtures.