Brett Walton

About Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club's Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

Entries by Brett Walton

Federal Water Tap, November 25: Water Use in the U.S. Report Update and Draft EPA Water Strategy

November 25, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Better Late than Never The U.S. Geological Survey’s comprehensive report on water use in the United States will be published next year, having been delayed because of new methods to account for water consumption, according to Joan Kenny, a USGS scientist involved in the study. “One of the biggest hurdles has been the additional work […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, November 18: $US 1.2 Billion Restoration Plan for California Marshes

November 18, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Wetlands The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service submitted a final plan for the nation’s second-largest tidal marsh restoration, a 50-year $US 1.2 billion project to revive habitat for threatened birds, plants, and animals in the San Francisco Bay. The voluntary plan sets ambitious goals for 17 species, but comes with no dedicated federal funding. “Recovery […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Saving Money by Storing the Rain

November 13, 2013/in Water News/by Brett Walton

Rainwater harvesting, a disruptive idea, catches on with businesses. CoB reporter Brett Walton responds to a recent article in the Guardian.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Guess Who Proposed the Missouri River Pipeline in the Federal Government’s Colorado River Basin Study?

November 12, 2013/in Water News/by Brett Walton

Hint: It’s not who you might think, says Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, November 11: Water’s Value to the U.S. Economy

November 11, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Chasing the Wind The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked itself a difficult question – What is the value of water to the American economy? – and came up with a broad answer. Water is obviously valuable, but because reliable data on price, quantity, and use is often not kept, water’s “total contribution to the U.S. […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, November 4: President Obama Unveils New Elements in Climate Action Plan

November 4, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

What Should We Do? Continuing to flesh out a plan he outlined in June, President Barack Obama issued an executive order creating two climate change advisory bodies. The Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience is a federal conglomeration, comprising senior officials from at least 30 agencies. The other is a task force of prominent state, […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Ongoing Texas Drought Threatens Supply from Two Reservoirs on Colorado River

October 31, 2013/in Drought, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

With the amount of reliable water in reservoirs shrinking, water agencies set sights on groundwater transfers and more reservoirs. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue In the morning mist, bare land pokes above the surface of Lake Travis, a reservoir formed by Mansfield Dam on the Colorado River in Texas. Water levels […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, October 28: Water Infrastructure Legislation & Studies

October 28, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Kansas Aqueduct Study The Army Corps of Engineers will reassess a 600-kilometer (375-mile) aqueduct that would deliver Missouri River water to the High Plains. The aqueduct was part of a 1982 study that analyzed four schemes to increase water supplies in the region served by the diminishing Ogallala Aquifer. The cost of the $US 300,000 […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Kansas and Army Corps Revive Study to Ship Water from Missouri River to Ogallala Aquifer

October 24, 2013/in Agriculture, Infrastructure, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

In addition to reducing demand from its key aquifer, Kansas wants to study the cost of importing water to the High Plains. But will this cause conflict with neighboring states that also use the river?

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Sipping from the Fountain of Prairie Life

October 22, 2013/in Water News/by Brett Walton

Reporter Brett Walton recently visited the plains states of Kansas and Texas, finding a difference of opinion on how to best use limited water supplies. Photo © Brett Walton / Circle of Blue Soybeans harvested by a combine are funneled into a truck that drives parallel to the machine on a field in Thomas County, […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, October 21: Pakistan Aid Package Includes Money for Dam

October 21, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

No, Thanks The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to consider two water-related cases, Greenwire reports. One case involves the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ruling that pollution permits are not required to transfer water between sources. The Supreme Court upheld that decision in 2010, but the question now is which court has the jurisdiction to hear […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Fallowing Farmland: A New Card in Arizona’s Water Shuffle

October 17, 2013/in Agriculture, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

A pilot project will test how much water can be saved by not growing crops.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

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About Brett Walton

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