Entries by Brett Walton

Federal Water Tap, March 13: News from Congress and the Courts

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Military Base Water Contamination From the 1950s to the 1980s people living at Camp Lejeune Marine Base near Jacksonville, N.C. unknowingly drank tap water contaminated with benzene and other chemicals. Lawsuits have been filed. Now, the state’s U.S. senators are criticizing attempts by military officials to redact information in a federal report about the base’s […]

Federal Water Tap, March 12: News from the Agencies

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State Department Budget The State Department released the second volume of its fiscal year 2013 budget justification, a document that serves as a “blueprint” for the coming year. This volume explains foreign operations, including water, which the department calls a “cross-cutting” issue. Water is an essential part of presidential initiatives on health, on food, and […]

Big Water Projects in the Big Apple

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The New York City water department delivers nearly 4 million cubic meters (1 billion gallons) of water per day to 9 million customers. To keep up with demand and to meet water quality regulations, the city is undertaking several major water infrastructure projects.

America’s Water Infrastructure Shows Its Age — The National Debate About How to Pay for Repairs

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Hundreds of billions of dollars are needed for renovation and improvement. But what projects will be chosen, and who will pay? By Brett Walton Circle of Blue Photo courtesy of the Nebraska State Historical Society, image RG2608.PH2494 used with permission In 1889, the streets of Kearney, Nebraska, were ripped open so that workers could install […]

Federal Water Tap, March 5: Statements of Principle

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A National Standard It’s not what clean-energy advocates would have envisioned three years ago when the House of Representatives passed a cap-and-trade bill, but it’s something. Last week in the Senate, Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, which would set national targets for energy produced from renewable and low-carbon sources. […]

India Supreme Court Again Pushes National River Linking Project to Proceed

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This is the second time the court has promoted the mega-project that would link the major rivers in the north with those in the south as a way to better manage water, moving it from areas of perceived surplus to areas without sufficient supplies.

Federal Water Tap, February 27: Water Infrastructure

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Pipes on Tap On Tuesday a Senate subcommittee will listen to officials from local governments speak about water infrastructure problems. The mayor of Baltimore, the manager of a water system in suburban Washington, D.C. and the director of an Alabama water association will speak. This is the second time in the last three months that […]

Federal Water Tap, February 20: Legislation

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Bills, Bills, Bills More than 40 senators called on the body’s leadership to pass a flood insurance bill, The Hill reports. The bill, among other things, would change insurance premiums to help cover the billions in debt the program has run up. The Government Accountability Office, which has been concerned about the insurance program for […]

President Obama’s 2013 Budget a Mixed Bag for Water, a Boon for Clean Energy

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The president throws more clean-energy money at the Energy Department, while cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget come at the expense of water and sewer infrastructure.

Federal Water Tap, February 13: The Budget and Infrastructure

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A few choice items have already trickled out or were set in deals made months ago, but today President Barack Obama will submit his fiscal year 2013 budget to Congress. We’ll have all the water details here, once the complete document lands. Afterward, the budget debate moves to the east end of the National Mall […]

Resurrecting an Old Desalination Technology to Test Desert Agriculture

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At a U.S. desalination research facility this month, a 2,500-year-old technology will be put to the test. The company in charge of the project hopes to increase productivity, reduce the energy needed to purify water and maybe even make desert agriculture viable. Brett Walton Circle of Blue Back when Athens was the center of the […]

Federal Water Tap, February 6: Water and National Security

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The director of national intelligence said that during the next decade water issues abroad will affect America’s national security, according to an on-the-record report to a special Senate committee on intelligence. In his annual threat assessment, James Clapper told the committee that “water shortages and pollution will probably negatively affect the economic performance of important […]