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, August 26: Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy (Plus, Food Safety)

August 26, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

“Smarter and Stronger” Better data and coordination, financial protections for homeowners, and resilient infrastructure are major pieces to the federal government’s rebuilding plan for the Mid-Atlantic states struck by Hurricane Sandy. President Obama created a task force in December 2012 to give cabinet-level gravitas to the rebuilding plan. The resulting 200-page document and its 69 […]

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, August 19: Water Returns to the U.S. Supreme Court

August 19, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Florida v Georgia The long-running water feud between three states in the Southeast will perhaps see two of them face off in the nation’s highest court. Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, announced that he would file a lawsuit in September in the U.S. Supreme Court to stop what he calls “Georgia’s unchecked consumption of […]

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

Fortune Telling: Colorado River Teeters Toward First-ever Shortage Declaration

August 14, 2013/in California, California Drought, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

In the short term, water prices would rise and groundwater pumping would increase. In the long term, demand would have to drop.

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, August 12: $US 400 Million Pipeline in Colorado

August 12, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Water Supply The Bureau of Reclamation released a final environmental impact statement for a $US 400 million water pipeline project in southeastern Colorado. The Arkansas Valley Conduit includes roughly 365 kilometers (227 miles) of pipeline plus upgrades to an existing water treatment plant in order to supply 40 towns and water systems currently serving 52,000 […]

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

Federal Water Tap, August 5: Tribal Water Rights Agreement Signed

August 5, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Water to the People Federal and tribal officials signed a water rights agreement with the White Mountain Apache Tribe at a ceremony July 30, one of four such settlements signed in the last two years. The agreement settles the tribe’s claims to water from the Gila River and Little Colorado River and authorizes 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, July 29: Obama Administration Plan for Stopping Asian Carp

July 29, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Raising Barriers A new electronic barrier in a Chicago shipping canal and a berm across a wetland in Indiana are two projects in the Obama administration’s $US 51 million plan to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Read more from Circle of Blue about the northward march – […]

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

Pennsylvania Encourages New Source of Water for Fracking – Discharge from Abandoned Mines

July 25, 2013/in Fracking, North America, Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

The state aims to turn an old problem into an asset. Photo courtesy of Winner Water Services Winner Water Services, a Battelle subsidiary, runs a treatment facility in Sykesville, Pennsylvania that removes iron from the water that flows through an abandoned coal mine. The company would like to sell the water to energy companies for […]

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, July 22: A Local-Federal Fire Partnership

July 22, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The consequences of severe fires last long after the flames have been snuffed out. Watersheds and reservoirs, in particular, are at risk from debris, erosion, and pipe-clogging ash, all of which degrade water quality and increase the cost of treatment. So the Interior Department and the Department of Agriculture announced a plan to work with […]

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

A Moneyball Approach for Groundwater Monitoring Networks

July 18, 2013/in Groundwater, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

A U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist shows the way to smarter cuts and better data collection. Photo © U.S. Geological Survey/Alan Cressler Routine maintenance on a groundwater monitoring well in Brunswick, Georgia. A new model based on genetic interactions shows water managers how to make smarter cuts to existing wells. Click to see an enlarged image. […]

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

U.S. Drought’s Shifting Epicenter – It’s New Mexico’s Turn

July 16, 2013/in Agriculture, Climate Change, Drought, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

Reservoirs are nearly empty, wells are being drilled deeper, and litigation abounds. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue A purple haze hangs over Cabezon Butte, west of Madrid, New Mexico. A drought lasting more than a decade has intensified in the state since 2011, setting off a host of water supply problems. Click to […]

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, July 15: Colorado River Basin Sniffs a Shortage

July 15, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Because the outlook for Colorado River reservoirs gets gloomier every month, I might soon have to drop the question mark from this subheading. Why? The July 24-month study from the Bureau of Reclamation forecasts that a first-ever water shortage on the iconic river could be declared as soon as April 2015. A shortage is triggered […]

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

30 Events In the Last Decade Show the U.S. Energy Sector’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

July 12, 2013/in /by Brett Walton

Rising temperatures, decreasing water supplies, and wacky weather are all threats, says the Energy Department. Image © U.S. Department of Energy A Department of Energy report claims that the American energy sector will have to quicken the pace of adaptation to meet the challenges posed by a warming world. This map shows 30 events in […]

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

Entries by Brett Walton