Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this May 9th, 2024.
Have your host James behind the microphone and we are welcoming to the WFHR stage.
For the first time, Jen McNeely is with us. She is a natural resource groundwater
educated with UW-Madison Division of Extension. Jen, good to meet you.
Hey, thanks. Nice to be here, James.
Appreciate the time. Always appreciate our friends from Extension coming in and
sharing the knowledge, if you will. And there is nobody that comes in from
Extension. We don't like talking to or there isn't a subject matter we like
getting into. But there are a few times where we have one that, you know,
touches so many people's lives and it affects our daily life so much.
And we're going to get into natural resources. A couple of different things here today.
But first, before we get to win all these things, Jen, one of the things you're going to
learn about me, I love an origin story. I love finding out about those things.
Excellent. Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?
Yeah, no problem. I am actually brand new to Extension. So I was hired just in February.
So this is my first time being here with you, which makes it really exciting for me.
So previous to working for Extension, I actually spent the last nine years over in
Portage County in Stevens Point as the county water resource specialist,
dealing with all things water-related over there. So this was a really nice
fit to transition into this position. Prior to that, I was at UWSP with the Center for
Water Trust Science and Education, doing lots of different things. I did
Lake Management Planning and Central Wisconsin, had contracts with the National Park Service
to do national resource inventories in a whole bunch of different national parks,
and worked with a lot of nonprofit organizations.
So you definitely know your stuff. It's a great choice to have you in this position.
And in all seriousness, having somebody who's literally coming from that world and been
involved in it in recent time and everything, that really plays into this well. It helps so much,
having somebody who's familiar with this and familiar with the area.
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's one of my strong suits is really being able to take kind
of the technical information that our researchers and our universities are working on,
and being able to communicate that to the public. Because this is not an easy topic to talk about
water and groundwater. It's really confusing for folks. And so the more we can kind of just
put it out there in plain terms and talk about it pretty frankly, the better it is for everybody.
So along with that, some of the goals that you are coming that you're going to be doing with the
job, helping communities to address groundwater and drinking water in that.
Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure if you've been paying attention to the news, the newspapers,
you know, everybody is talking about it. Everything from water quality, PFAS is the big one that we
hear a lot about lately. Even to sometimes, you know, with the drier weather last summer,
even quantity is kind of coming back. But it is everywhere right now and it's something that a lot
of people are talking about and a lot of different communities. And I imagine it's part of the
reason why education and outreach are going to be something that you're focusing on. Yeah, absolutely.
So a lot of different communities have a lot of different questions about what do we know,
what don't we know. And so the more we can answer those questions for folks, the better off it is.
And then it's also a matter of, you know, we've done a lot of sampling and we've done a lot of water
testing in these areas. But decision makers are how do we use this data to make wise decisions for
our residents going forward? And that's something that we're going to be working on as well.
I want to get into a couple of things from your outline and a couple of other topics. But one of
the things that I wanted to get into and I talk about this with almost anybody I can because this
is the topic that there's a number of topics that certainly affect a lot of us in a lot of
different industries. But as far as getting people talking and a conversation piece and a real
talking piece, this is the one. I have representatives come in once a month. I have people from
extension. I have other industries and just coming in and it always comes back to this to the
clean water. I'm curious, uh, somebody who's been in the area for a while and everything
had been in this industry for so long, it feels like seven, eight years ago, maybe even 10 years ago,
it was hard to get people to care about this. It really feels like we've got everybody's attention
now. I think you're absolutely right. Yeah. When I started at Portish County about nine years
ago, we were maybe talking about it, but not to the extent that we are right now. I think we saw
a huge shift, you know, when Governor Evers came in and declared it the year of clean drinking
water, I think that really kicked off the ability to have these conversations. And then from there,
I think we've also got just a number of different groups working on the issue from different
perspectives. You know, we have our farmer-led watershed councils that are really leading the way
in the agricultural industry and talking about this and how do we keep clean water. So yeah,
the willingness to have the conversation and the ability to talk about it, I think is
completely different than we saw about a decade ago. And I think that really speaks to what you
said too about it. It touches everybody's lives. We all need clean drinking water. You know,
businesses want clean water to attract new employees and industry needs it. There isn't a single
person that isn't touched by this issue. And it certainly has gotten the attention because of that,
but it is also one of the things that I get this from the handful of times I've talked with farmers
or some of my friends that are in that industry. And again, eight, nine years ago, they felt
the loan on this subject. Now I don't hear that. I hear while there's plenty of work to be done
and certainly on this topic and even more awareness to be brought to the topic, it's great to for
our farmers got a lot on their plate. Oh my gosh. It's really nice to be able to give them some
support and then not to feel a loan on this topic. Yeah. And really to give them the ability to
be leaders on the topic as well. I think that's something that's really unique too. You know,
we all know that changes need to be made. But really, how do we make those changes and how do we
support those changes? And if we're asking them to be the ones to make the changes, what better
person than to tell us? Okay, this is going to work. This isn't going to work.
The other thing that I think is stood out about this is we've kind of gotten away from the blame
game too. There was almost any topic that comes up in society. One of the first things we're doing
is where we point our finger. And it feels like with this one, we realize pretty quickly,
oh, I got three more pointing right back at me. Yeah. It seems like we picked up on that quick.
So while we are trying to figure out where we can improve this industry, it doesn't seem like
we're, hey, it's your fault. No, it's your fault. We're not doing that as much anymore. It feels
like maybe not as much. I think there's still some of that and I think it really depends on the
specific area where you go to to have that. But yeah, the fact of the matter is is we can sit and
we can blame each other all day long. That is not going to change a single thing. It's not going to
move us forward in any type of direction. Very true. And so really, we need to move past that if
we really want to make a difference or to talk about this in a different way, it really can't be
about blaming, you know, who's responsible. So getting into the topic, where do residents get
their drinking water from? Sure. So a pretty cool fact is that everybody in Wood County actually
gets their drinking water from groundwater. So whether you're resident in a city or a municipality
that provides you water like Wisconsin Rapids, you if you live in Wisconsin Rapids or a city like
that that has municipal water services, they are pumping the water groundwater out of the ground.
And you know, putting it through their municipal water treatment system and then pumping it to
your house. Or if you're a private resident that lives out in the country and has your own private
well, you are doing the exact same thing just on a smaller scale. You're pumping groundwater out of
the ground and bringing it into your home. Yeah. And while I think that some might know that I know
for me, there was parts of that I didn't know. And I've talked about this subject a number of times.
So I appreciate the information and I think that there it's also we can't get to D if we don't
start with A. You know, it's important to understand some of the basics is important to understand
where your water is coming from before we can even get into cleaning the water or making it,
you know, better. Exactly. I think a lot of times people hear drinking water and they associate it
as something completely separate or different than groundwater or surface water. And that's really
not the case. So like I said, groundwater and drinking water is pretty much the same thing.
Just different names for it depending on how you're using it. And even surface water is connected
in there. So groundwater doesn't stay in one place. It moves from higher spots on the landscape to
lower spots and our lowest spots happen to be our lakes and rivers and streams. And so our groundwater
is actually discharging into our surface waters. And so whatever's impacting our groundwater is
impacting our surface water and vice versa. And that's where we get our drinking water from. So
it's really all connected. And when we talk about water resources, we really talk about it as like
a single resource. Jen, I'm curious, what do I need to know about drinking water?
So one of the big things that we tell people when it comes to their drinking water is you should
really know the quality of it. That's super important. It just how happens that this week is
National Drinking Water week. So this timing couldn't be any more correct. Right? That worked out
really well. So we always tell people be aware of the quality of your drinking water. So again,
if you live in a municipality and you have municipal water, you're kind of lucky in their
respect that that municipality is monitoring your water quality for you. They're testing it periodically
making sure that it's meeting state standards. For those not on private well system, you really
have to act as your own water utility. So you really have to take the initiative to go out and test
your drinking water quality. You know, most of our contaminants that we're dealing with that we
want to be concerned about things like bacteria and nitrate, they don't have any smell, no taste.
You really can't tell that they're there unless you're testing for it. So that's the big one that
we really want people to pay attention to. How is it going getting people to get in on the test
and get these households to get the sampling in, get some data? Sure. So it can be really variable.
We can have really good success sometimes. We also have a fair amount of the population that
really doesn't want to know. And sometimes it's a matter of if I don't know, then I don't have
to worry about it or it can't hurt me. And while there's some truth in that, that's not something
that we really want to advocate for because we really want people to be aware. You know, whatever
happens after you get your test back, whatever the results, the decision is completely up to you,
what to do next. We just want you to be aware. So government isn't going to come in and make you fix
your well or do some sort of treatment system or anything like that. That's not how that works.
We just want folks to know what they're consuming and how that potentially might affect their
health in the long run. Really important information there. I can't imagine that that would encourage
people to get their water tested after knowing that information. I think that's very helpful,
so if I could just piggyback on that a little bit, it's not just your land. You know, I mean,
the soil connects, our rivers, our lakes, our oceans, they all connect. And if you don't want to do
something about your water, I think one of the least things you can do is to get it tested,
at least so we have the data. And at least have that. Whatever you do from there, like you said,
is on your business and all that. But I think you're only helping your neighbors, your fellow
community members, your state, your the world by getting that data out there.
You know, that's a really, really great point, James. Yeah. For our people who we've put in the
position of making decisions for us, so you know, whether it's our county board supervisors or
our state legislators, you know, they're really trying to write policy around this in some cases.
And unless they have the information to make an informed decision, they're kind of swinging by
the seat of their pants. So we really want to give them the best information as well.
And what does this look like across the landscape? Because it certainly is not the same in every
place you go. It is different, even in the state was done. Yeah. We're speaking, is it McNally?
McNally. It is McNally. Okay. We're speaking with Jen McNally. She's a natural resources
groundwater educator with educator with UW Madison Extension. And Jen, I tried something before,
I like to do a little prep work before the interviews and everything understand a little bit of what
we're talking about. And so I tried something the other day, I glass a water and I put a states
and capitals test in front of it. And it's like, okay, water, give me, you know, match the capital
to the state and all that and everything. Nothing, got nothing from it. Realized real quickly,
this is not the way to test my water. No. I was, I realized you're coming in today. I'm like,
all right, I'm going to stop. How can I actually test my water, Jen? Sure. So we always encourage
people to use a state certified lab because those are going to have uniform results across the
board. So that's, that's the first thing. We are lucky here in Central Wisconsin. We have a number
of state certified labs that are really easily accessible. Probably the closest one is the Wood
County Health Department actually has its own water lab right in the river block building downtown
in Wisconsin Rapids. They are certified to test for nitrate and bacteria, which are two of the
big ones that we tell people to test for annually because they're our most common contaminants
and they also have potential health health impacts as well. So that is a fantastic resource
for folks. If you're looking for something a little bit more or to test for more things
in your drinking water, then we have the UWSP water lab, which is on campus and Steven's point.
We also have private labs that are certified like US water that can test a whole host of different,
you know, contaminants or analytes in the water. It's really good information, Jen, appreciate that.
And we, I imagine that if you want to reach out to those or groups of the UWSP or anything like
that, you can find that information online pretty easy. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. You can just google them.
You know, if you're in Wisconsin Rapids, you can certainly stop by the county health department.
They're available to answer questions in person as well. The water labs are great about if you
don't want to go to them. So most labs are going to require that you use the specific testing kit.
If you don't want to travel to them just to pick up a water kit, most of them will mail it directly
to you. And then you can even mail your water sample back to them, making it a pretty easy process.
Before we wrap up, I want to get into the idea of what if we have concerns about our water.
But I am curious, and I know we touched on this a little bit before, as far as the
the national narrative or the Wisconsin narrative, if you will, just stay in here in Wisconsin
and locally in Wood County, that that is improved, that the conversation has gotten better,
and more people are caring about the subject and everything.
When you started in this tune now, have you seen improvement scientifically with the water
in certain areas, even? Sure. So when it comes to water quality, that's a really hard question
for us to answer. We've been talking about this issue since the 1970s, which is hard to believe.
But the way that we've been going about testing, and even recently, up until now, really hasn't
allowed us to answer that question very well. So what that really requires us to do is to test
the same household or the same well over a period of time, so pretty routinely.
When we went about this, when we started going about this topic, it was just test. We just
want you to be aware. And now we're getting past that point where people are testing more regularly,
and we're like, okay, you know what, we really need to start designing our sampling programs
and our water testing so that we can't answer this question. What does water quality look like
over time? And so I think we're right at the beginning of that stage, which is a little bit
overwhelming, a little bit scary, but it's a great thing too. And these growing pains are
often needed to get to the growth, get to the good parts. Yeah, you know, believe it or not,
water science, water quality, and groundwater in the green scheme of things is a relatively
new area of science. You know, we're learning stuff every day. I think PFAS is a great example
of that as something that, you know, we weren't talking about three years ago, even, and now it's
the hot button topic. So this is an ever changing world as we learn more, as technology develops,
you know, so even if you think, you know, what your water quality, what your drinking water quality
is, it's always a great idea to go back and revisit it. Jen, I know this is our first conversation,
but we're already chemistry there. I wanted to ask, if you are somebody that tests your water
or have tested it in the past, how often should you test it? Is there a ballpark idea on that?
We say at least once a year. So for things like nitrates, they can be tricky little critters.
Nitrates bounce around, and so we would fully expect you to be able to sample one day,
and even within 24 hours go back and sample again, and we would expect a slightly different result.
They're just ever changing. So we say once a year, just to keep an eye on things,
some folks like to go like 18 months so that you can space it out so you're hitting every season.
Fall spring, summer, winter. See if there's any seasonality to your water test results.
Yeah, so yeah. So finally, Jen, and when you let you go and get back to your day,
you're doing great by the way. What if I have concerns about my water?
Sure. There are a lot of great resources out there to be able to go to to ask questions about.
So we always say start with a test. You know, your water may look funky. It may, you know,
come out with like a reddish tint or something, and sometimes that's completely harmless.
That's something like iron, which is just naturally occurring, not going to affect your health.
It may even smell funky like rotten eggs, and that's a sulfur thing. Again, now totally naturally
occurring, not going to affect your health. So always start with that test result, because that's
going to give us a lot of great information to answer a lot of different questions and to talk
about your water. From there, your county health department is a great resource, no matter what
county you're in. They all have environmental health specialists that that kind of deal with this.
DNR is another great source of information, or you could even reach out to me. And I'm happy to
talk about water quality and your specific well and water quality test results.
Appreciate that, Jen. And if people do have follow up questions, they want to know more about this,
how can they get in hold of you? Yeah, sure. Probably the easiest way to find my information is simply
to Google either my name, or just look it up on the Wood County Extension webpage.
And rapid things up, Jen. I do have to warn you. You did a really good job. So you're going to have
to come back. I am totally happy to. This is one of my favorite topics to talk about. So we've
got lots of things we can cover. Yeah, and we've got a lot of work to do on this topic. So we
appreciate having you here to talk about it, help our audience understand it a little bit more in
ways we can improve it. We're looking forward to talking again real soon. Excellent. Thanks for
having me, James. Thank you, Jen. Nice to meet you. Well, I'm more midday magazine for you coming
up on WFHR. We are 97 5 FM 13 20 AM locally grown radio.
