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

Israel’s Mediterranean Desalination Plants Shift Regional Water Balance

July 25, 2016/in Middle East, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Desalination could remake the region’s politics and ecology. It hasn’t yet. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue TEL AVIV, Israel — The water that flows into Sorek desalination plant is drawn from near the Mediterranean Sea floor. Pumped inland, the water is cleansed, step by step, of salts and impurities. The transmutation does not take […]

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 18: Senate Leaves for Vacation with Water Bills Still on the Floor

July 18, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown No action yet on important water and environment bills. NOAA establishes a new water office. California and federal agencies release a strategy to save the Delta smelt. The U.S. Geological Survey identifies hot spots for corrosive groundwater and reckons what rising seas will do to Cape Cod. A law expert clears a path […]

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 11: EPA Will Not Regulate Forest Road Runoff

July 11, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Instead of new federal rules, the EPA will work within existing local and state programs to manage logging road runoff. The CDC is helping North Carolina health officials deal with a brain-eating amoeba at a whitewater park. The House passes a bill to protect salmon but fisheries experts question its effectiveness. The House […]

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 5: Florida Senators Tour the Algae Coast

July 5, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Huge bloom of toxic algae on Florida coast send officials looking for quick fixes to chronic problem. Federal science review of nonstick chemicals, sometimes found in groundwater near industrial facilities, finds strong evidence that they damage human immune systems. Clean energy agreement could help Canadian hydropower. Federal dam in Montana without hydropower might […]

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

North America Clean Energy Plan Could Boost Canadian Hydropower

June 29, 2016/in North America, Water & Climate, Water News/by Brett Walton

Leaders pledge more use of low-carbon fuels. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue At a summit in Ottawa today, the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States agreed to accelerate North America’s development of low-carbon energy sources, pledging that half of their combined electricity use will come from “clean” fuel sources by 2025. “We […]

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

California Fresh Groundwater Reserves Triple in New Assessment

June 27, 2016/in California, Groundwater, Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

Researchers urge caution in underground disposal of oil waste, to protect deep water sources. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue California’s breadbasket has more water than once thought. The water is just far deeper underground — nearly two miles in some cases — than researchers, farmers, and cities typically search. Only oil and gas companies […]

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, June 27: Judge Blocks Obama Administration Fracking Rule

June 27, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Congress has not given the executive branch authority to regulate fracking, a federal judge determines. Millions of trees died in the California drought. President Obama signs pipeline safety bill that has provisions directed at a Great Lakes oil pipeline. The president also threatens to veto a Zika bill because of clean water concerns. […]

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. Water Utilities Not Prepared for Catastrophe

June 23, 2016/in Infrastructure, United States, Water News/by Brett Walton

Federal government should have more active role in preparing for natural disaster and cyberattack, report argues. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Cutting beneath the lower Mississippi River, the New Madrid fault is a T-shaped geological hazard that is primed for a fierce tremor. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake where the fault crosses the Missouri-Tennessee border […]

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

Congress Strengthens Great Lakes Oil Pipeline Oversight

June 22, 2016/in Great Lakes, Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

Pipeline safety bill includes three provisions directed at Line 5, an aging oil conduit across the Straits of Mackinac. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Out of sight and out of mind until recently, two aging oil pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac, in northern Michigan, have soared from a regional concern to an authentic […]

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

Drinking Water Warning Issued for Nonstick Chemical

June 20, 2016/in Groundwater, Pollution, United States, Water News, Water Quality/by Brett Walton

Flint lead scandal a factor in stirring action for other contaminants. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Teflon — “Nothing messes with it,” reads the tagline on the latest ad campaign for the famed nonstick cookware. A fried egg, sunny side up, vaults out of the pan, leaving no scraps behind. Teflon and related brands […]

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, June 20: House Spending Bill Boosts Drinking Water Funds, Handcuffs EPA

June 20, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown More money for drinking water systems in House spending bill but a familiar whipping for the EPA. Congress approves an oil and gas pipeline safety bill. After an environmentalist was murdered, a Georgia representative wants an investigation in Honduras while a Michigan representative expresses concern about a nuclear waste facility proposed in Canada, […]

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

Groundwater Pumping Sinks Beijing Region at Increasing Rate

June 15, 2016/in China, Groundwater, Water News/by Brett Walton

Satellite data reveal the depths of the megacity’s thirst. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Beijing, one of the world’s most water-scarce large cities, has long drawn on groundwater reserves to supply more than 20 million people. The unrelenting pressure for water, though, is causing the land to shift and sink and buckle, which puts […]

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