UW- Extension Wood County – Fall Plumbing and Water Tips – September ‘25

Hello world, welcome to WFHR's rapid support, probably brought to you by Crockett Sceptic

on this September 18th, 2025.

Have your host James here.

We're joined by our great friend, Jen McNally, Natural Resource Groundwater Educator

with UW-Madison Extension Wood County.

Jen, always good hanging out with you.

No much I enjoy hanging out with you, but learning with you and I know the audience does too.

You don't really do like average topics.

You don't really do things where we're going to go into something that I think people have

heard before or anything.

You're picking a topic today that I think is very universal, but just doing a quick read

of this, I think you got a lot of stuff in here that is common knowledge.

Oh good, I'm glad.

Yeah, we wanted to, you know, time of the year, I always try and think about what information

people might need or might want to know.

So that's how we settled on today's topic, which is fall, well maintenance and plumbing.

Yeah, yeah.

Which is only getting to be a bigger and bigger topic as we go on, and we see the flooding

happening in parts of our state, even here locally in Rapids.

I know my parents, anytime they're going to see a lot of rain, they start to worry.

Yeah, that's a great point, I didn't even think of that, so I appreciate that.

It's covered basis with you, that's always a team effort here.

But yeah, as the cold weather is beginning to move in, we're going to hopefully prepare

some people, help people be prepared a little better.

Yeah, absolutely.

You know, the time of year where people are out there doing yard work and stuff.

And so it's a great time of year to also just take stock of the situation.

So a lot of what we're probably going to talk about today really is highly applicable

for those people who live in more rural areas and have a private well, but we'll also touch

on a couple topics for those that live in the city too.

So yeah, no matter what, it's a great time, like you said, before the cold settles in,

to take a look at your plumbing and your well situation, to find out if everything is

in good working order.

That's really something that we want people to do at least once a year.

And this is a perfect time to do that.

And Jen, are there like tips for full plumbing that you have maybe?

Yeah, so the big one is, if people have a private well, really one thing that we

want folks to do is to really take a close look at their well cap.

So most people who have a private well will have a pipe anywhere from two to three feet

typically that sticking out up above the ground.

And that pipe should have a secure well cap located on the top of it.

And what we want folks to do is to take a close look not only at the cap, but also at

the pipe.

And it cracks in it if you have you running over with a lawnmower recently and damaged

it.

I've done that.

Exactly.

You know, make sure that cap should have screws in it.

Make sure that those screws are there and that cap is tight on the top.

And then one place that a lot of folks don't look on, on the underside of that well cap,

there are usually one or two small screens that allow like pressure to change within

that well.

Sometimes those screens get knocked out of place.

And so we want folks to kind of either get down below it and look or to even feel are

those screens still in place, are there any holes or anything like that.

I personally had a private well in a, in a different home that I lived in.

And those screens were missing and we didn't know that until we had our water quality tested

and had a bacteria issue and come to find out ants had gotten into our well and causes

this bacteria issue and everything looked fine, but we really hadn't taken that really

close inspection.

So you know, it's a good reason for people to take a close look.

All great tips, especially so many of these things and this is not a judgment thing.

We all do this to a degree with certain things.

Absolutely.

Oh, it's there.

It's good.

You know, it's already in place.

I don't have to think about it anymore.

There's a lot to think about.

There's a lot to do around a home.

It's understandable to certain things might get missed or just not thought about even appreciate

bringing attention to some of this and especially the detail to it because the screens are like

I thought I was hanging with you on the cap and seal.

My dad is pretty good about that and keep an eye on it.

He really got me and my brother and sister to look for those things.

But oh, the screen.

I didn't think about that.

That's good.

Yeah, no, absolutely.

And sometimes folks don't even know where that well is located on their property.

So that's always a good thing too that if you're like, huh, I really don't even know

where that pipe is.

It's a good chance to grow out and try and locate it or to differentiate it from your

septic system too.

If you live out in the country, you'll have some observation pipes for your septic system

and a lot of times those two things can be confused with each other because they both

have caps.

And it's also a great time of year to go out and take a look at your septic system too.

Make sure the caps are there on those and that your septic tank lid is locked down and

that you're maintaining your annual maintenance on your septic system that you should also

be doing.

So good chance for both of those.

One other thing that we encourage people to do with that pipe, you know, and I think

it's especially pertinent as we're doing yard work and stuff is we really want to make

sure that we also don't have a bunch of like vegetation around that pipe or piled on top

of it.

But we're also thinking about when it comes time for snow, which knock on one, we're not

dealing with yet, that we're not piling snow on top of that pipe as well because that

vegetation can encourage, you know, different rodents or, you know, insects or whatever

else to take up habitat there.

Snow carries a lot of different stuff with it, which is not good for our water.

And so we just want to make sure that we're, you know, maintaining a clear space around

that well pipe.

In addition, we also want to take a look if your well is closer to your home, where your

downspouts are coming from and where those downspouts are directing water too.

If you have water directly flowing towards that well pipe, that's not a great thing in

terms of like bacteria.

Bacteria loves like moist wet conditions to grow in.

And so if you have standing water pooling around that well pipe or flowing towards it,

it's just asking for potential for bacteria growth.

So those are also things that we want people to kind of be aware of and where water is

going.

Really good idea about checking where those downspouts are directed.

That's a really good one to a two and all these things are, I wouldn't, you know, depending

on where your well is located and stuff, this is a case by case basis, certainly.

But I don't think anything that you've suggested or brought up right now is really, you know,

arm breaking or anything.

It's not a huge task.

And the payoff is so worth it.

Right.

It's more of a safety precaution thing, you know, keeping trouble from happening.

You know, there was a survey done for folks who were, you know, looking at addressing potential

issues and the cost savings by doing it up front is just huge compared to what you have

to go through after the fact if there is an issue in place.

And it's a great segue into what I wanted to ask next.

And in part, you know, we do this show for our listeners and everything.

Every once in a while, there's something that I'm saying directly to my father.

And while my dad doesn't have a well, if he did, I would have to remind him that he

should not try to tackle it himself.

He should not try to fix, duct tape is not going to fix this one, Jim.

No, no.

It's not going to do it.

And that's hilarious because I actually know a specific well that are drive by every

day on the way to work that has got duct tape wrapped around it.

So I've got this mental picture of exactly what you're talking about in my ad.

So Wells are one of those things like I appreciate DIY to your heart's content.

Wells are one of those things.

If you do have an issue, don't fix it yourself.

Don't try.

This is a place for licensed professionals to do.

In fact, every time you open up a well cap, you're really running the risk of introducing

bacteria.

And so in the state actually has a rule in place that if that well cap is opened and

work is done on the well, they have to be doing a test for bacteria and stuff afterwards.

And while there really probably isn't going to be somebody checking up to make sure that's

done, it's a great role of thumb.

Just because it is something that you're directly consuming.

And so really for your own safety, that's best left to the professionals.

And when you do have well problems reaching out to our DNR, reaching out to certain places

with that.

So two great resources, DNR maintains a list of certified well professionals across the

entire state.

If you want something locally, the Wood County Planning and Zoning Office also maintains

a list of well professionals that work in the area commonly.

So both great resources to go to to find those folks.

Speaking with our good friend, Jen McNally from UW-Madison Extension Wood County, Jen,

you mentioned this a little bit before that this is also a good time to be checking their

septics and some of that.

Yeah.

So septic maintenance is required and inspection is required every three years by the county

and state.

So just making sure that you're on that routine of maintaining your septic system and having

it inspected.

If you are not sure where you are, you can call the Planning and Zoning Office.

And they can let you know where you're at in that inspection process.

And then if you have a septic tank, you should be having that pump routinely as well.

So I do think it's ironic that we're sponsored by Cracket's septic today, so it's a great

reminder.

It's wonderful.

That's what well done.

Well done by you.

As well.

Which is great.

And what a cool resource that they're able to help you, like, especially if you're a

new owner of a home or something, and that's just one of those bits of information that

got lost in the shuffle, that they're able to help you know, hey, we were able to check

it two years ago or whatever it might be.

Yeah, exactly.

I know where you're at, because that is one of those things, especially if you're not

used to having a septic in a well, there can be a pretty steep learning curve for folks

to try and figure out and find information.

DNR Department of Health Services all have great basic information on how to learn about

both your septic and your well.

Which I encourage people to do to take the time.

They're pretty cool systems.

Yeah.

When you think about it.

And as far as things to look for when checking it out, the cracks or that might be in place

or something like that.

Yep.

You want to just, you know, for both well and septics, again, cracks, anything that looks

like it's damaged, making sure that caps and lids are in place and like your septic

tank lid is locked down that's required in state statute.

If you do stumble across something, it is not uncommon, especially in our rural areas,

to stumble across an old septic system or an old well that's no longer being used.

And those things, in that case, we really want to make sure that we're getting those

taken care of and out of the landscape.

So for wells, we want to make sure that they're properly filled and sealed.

Welles are like an unused well without a well cap.

Just think about it.

It's an open pipe.

It's a direct conduit right down to your drinking water or local water resources.

And so the possibilities for contamination really significantly increase.

And frankly, the same thing happens for like an unused septic system, an unused tank.

I mean, we still have in certain situations pit wells.

You know, not only the risk for contamination, some of those larger cesterns that are out

there are really kind of dangerous for folks too.

And so that same list of certified well professionals are going to have folks that can fill and

seal those wells as well.

And the cool thing when it comes to like filling and sealing wells, the county land conservation

department actually occasionally, depending on the budget, has money to cost share that

because it's considered a best management practice.

So if it's something you stumble across on your property and like, look, I really want

to get this taken care of, definitely reach out to the Wood County Land and Water Conservation

Department.

You're in a different county listening, reach out to your own land conservation department

because there may be funds available to help pay for that.

That's really cool.

It's awesome that they're doing a very smart thing doing that.

It's really cool to hear.

And something that I always good to remind people about, especially I don't know that that's

common knowledge either.

Another one of those bits of information I was talking about.

Are there signs or indications of an unused well that we should keep an eye out for?

Yeah, absolutely.

So for, you know, obvious one, pipe sticking out of the ground that you don't know what the

heck they go to.

That's usually a good vibe, right?

An old farm, so a lot of times the old windmills that you see, those are usually connected

to a well of some sort because those windmills were used to help pump the water out of the

ground.

Yeah.

So that's, that's usually a good telltale sign.

Just between you and I, I just learned that.

I did not go that.

Oh my gosh, that's awesome.

So now you're going to be driving around all over the place and be like, hey, I bet I

know what that's for.

Right?

Old buildings, houses, they typically have a well-associated with them.

So if it's an abandoned, you know, building of some sort on your property, definitely

check it out.

Depression's in the ground.

And then if you stumble across like a concrete tank or vault or pit, sometimes they have

like lumber or metal that's been dragged over the top of them.

Or even what I've seen too in certain cases is almost like a depression or a sinkhole

and people can't figure out why the land is like subsiding or sinking there.

We don't naturally really have sinkholes in this area.

So if that's occurring, there's usually a sign that there's something underground buried.

They're a great example of this is in Portage County right by the county building.

They're parking lot.

Actually had a sinkhole come to find out there was old underground tanks there that nobody

knew existed.

That's wild.

Yeah.

And we would like to also remind people that I think you might have mentioned this before

or maybe it's just we've mentioned it a number of times.

But there is really not a bad time for a water test.

This is a perfect opportunity to do that.

Yeah, while you're out and about, I'm always going to plug that one around here.

At least annually, if you have a private well, have it tested for a bacteria and nitrate.

Those are the two biggies.

But the more you test for, the better.

As we are gearing up for this colder weather, there are certain things that we want to

do for pumps and pipes to help them do their job and everything.

So winterizing them is another part of this.

Yeah.

If you have piping that's exposed, especially in like an older hand pump, sometimes we'll

see that that might be used for outdoor watering or watering livestock or animals.

Those are susceptible.

You know, water is very powerful when it freezes.

So we want to make sure that any exposed pipes or plumbing or pumps are being properly

winterized, emptying the water out of those, the bus that you can, wrapping them up in

some type of cover or pipe insulation, always really good to keep those.

If you have outdoor hoses, disconnecting those is good and draining them to make sure that

one that when that water freezes, because it will at some point, it doesn't explain

and cause damage at the same time.

You know, I've never lived anywhere, Jen, where there was a sprinkler system.

And so I'm curious about that one.

What about something like that?

I don't think that that's one of those ones we think are very often.

Yeah.

No, unless you're really used to having a sprinkler system, that's the same type of thing

in those pumps and plumbing as well at the end of the year, towards the end of the year.

Those should be really disconnected from the water source and then either drain using gravity

or they should be blown out using an air compressor.

This is one of those things that if you're familiar with a sprinkler system, you can probably

do yourself.

If you're not, I would also encourage contacting a professional because you can cause some

damage and you don't want to do that to your sprinkler system.

Yeah.

Good reminder to make sure to get all the zones of your sprinkler system.

So if your sprinkler system is set to go off in different zones, make sure you're getting

each one as well and that's going to pay off in the long run and increase the longevity

of your system.

Another thing that does with that and again, something that you kind of touch down there

is locating your your shut off valve and making sure to shut that puppy down.

Yeah, always good to know.

You know, this one really isn't critical for necessarily winterizing, but you know,

it's always good because you know where your water shut off valve is because otherwise

it's going to come time for that emergency and then you're going to be trying to locate

it and that's never the time you want to try and find no specific things.

So that's always good just to know in the back of your mind and if you're out there doing

all this other stuff, you might as well.

Hopefully, it's not something that you ever need to know at an urgent moment, but boy,

it's great information to have when you do well.

Right.

Exactly.

And it's usually in those critical times, you know, or the after bath after, you know,

you have a pipe freezing situation and when things start to thaw, you know, that's not

the time that you're generally thinking about locating it.

So always good to know.

Water is awesome.

Water is amazing.

We are made up of water.

Right.

It is made up of water.

And I think because of some of those things, we don't always think about it being dangerous

and then the dangers of it.

I've actually talked a lot about this with a lot of our members of the Y and encouraging

their parents to get young kids swimming lessons and those things.

It's very similar to me, the topics, you know, we love water.

It's great.

I'm a Pisces, of course, I love water.

But you know, it's one of those things to keep in mind with this stuff because the damage

water can do is unlike a few things, you know, doing these things, going through this

is going to be make you a better winner, give you a much better winner.

Yeah, exactly.

And so the other one that we want folks to do if you're out there walking around is

also just to take a look at your foundations, see if there's wet or standing water because

of course, when it gets colder and that freezes, that's going to cause issues for you.

If you can remedy that while it's still warm out, that's a much more pleasant experience

for folks.

If you've got those downsabouts directing them away from your house, we'll save you a

lot of heartache somewhere down the road.

So, you know, checking interior, both interior and exterior is really helpful in those cases.

Jim, we've covered a lot today.

We always encourage our listeners out there that if they have follow-up questions or just

want to know more about some of these things, if they can reach out to you, how can they

do that?

Yeah, for sure.

I'm interested in contacting me.

I am a great resource for all sorts of different information and if I don't know it, I can find

the person who does.

So they can Google me and find my email online on our website for Wood County UW Extension

or they're always more than welcome to just give our office a jingle.

And that number is 715-421-844-0.

Always appreciate the time, Jen.

Thank you.

And again, that website, extension.wisc.edu and be sure to follow them on social media and

share their posts on your page.

You just never know who might see them otherwise and looking forward to hanging out again real

soon, Jen.

Thanks for the time.

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you to our friends at Crock Acceptic for sponsoring another edition of WFHR's

Rapids Report.