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 30: President Obama Attends Paris Climate Change Conference

November 30, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown President Obama arrives in Paris. The Interior Department will review a proposed river diversion in southwest New Mexico. Food safety rule targets irrigation water. The Coast Guard updates a ballast water rule. 2015 continues to break heat records. “We support a strong and ambitious agreement that holds countries accountable for the emission target […]

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

Septic System Pollution Contributes to Disease Outbreaks

November 25, 2015/in Groundwater, Infrastructure, North America, Pollution, Water News/by Brett Walton

More research and funding is needed to help understand the severity By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Drip by drip, septic systems, both faulty units and those that pass inspection, are nurturing an undesirable gang of bacteria, parasites, viruses, nutrients, and other contaminants in groundwater, streams, and soil in the United States. Septic pollution represents […]

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 23: Georgia and Florida to Seek Mediation in U.S. Supreme Court Water Case

November 23, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Longstanding opponents Florida and Georgia are attempting to work out their differences over water use in a contested river basin while the Supreme Court appoints an expert to oversee a groundwater lawsuit. An EPA advisory committee offers recommendations for updating the agency’s lead and copper rule. A Senate committee advances a bill 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

Gila River Diversion Reaches Decision Point

November 20, 2015/in Hydropower, Infrastructure, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Fate of an expensive Southwest water supply project is at stake By Brett Walton Circle of Blue Southwest New Mexico awaits one of the most significant federal decisions on water infrastructure and the environment in this region since the U.S. Forest Service designated 755,000 acres of the Gila National Forest in 1924 as the nation’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

Colorado to Approve First State Water Plan

November 18, 2015/in North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Plan will endorse conservation, storage, and agricultural transfers as strategies to address projected water shortfall Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue The Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado River, flows through the resort town of Aspen. How to make the best use of the water in the Roaring Fork and […]

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

Atomic Crumbs Guide First Global Assessment of Groundwater Age

November 16, 2015/in Groundwater, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

Newer groundwater is a small fraction of total reserves Photo © Brian Lehmann / Circle of Blue Gonzalo Alcantar of Hydro Resources, a well-drilling business, guides a large pipe into place so the drilling rig can dig a well near Sublette, Kansas. Hydro Resources drills new wells into the Ogallala Aquifer, the main water source […]

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 16: Secretary of State Kerry Connects Climate Change and Water

November 16, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown America’s top diplomat said that climate change will stress society because of water. Lake Erie algae bloom was the worst this century while researchers develop an early warning system for algae. Alabama and Florida senators wade into long-running Southeast water fight. Utah congressman redesigns a lauded, and now expired, conservation fund. The EPA […]

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

Landmark Klamath Basin Water Agreement Is on Verge of Collapse

November 12, 2015/in California, Hydropower, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

Congress could allow year-end deadline for review and enactment to expire. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue On July 14, 2001, pulses quickened in Oregon’s Klamath River Basin when unarmed U.S. marshals were summoned to stand guard over irrigation water gates that until that day had never needed such protection. In defiance of federal orders, […]

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 9: Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

November 9, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown The biggest symbol of the climate change fight in North America is denied a permit. The EPA publishes its first national report on wetland health. The Senate votes against Clean Water rule. Mexico and the United States sign a water deal. The EPA’s internal watchdog is expanding an investigation of the Gold King […]

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

Australia Coal Mines Prompt Concerns about Groundwater and Climate

November 5, 2015/in Australia, Groundwater, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Mining Queensland’s ample coal seams will require a lot of groundwater — and lead to more carbon pollution. Coal companies have pegged Queensland’s Galilee Basin, a geological formation in the state’s interior, as the next big production zone for Australia’s coal mining industry as it looks to increase exports to India, China, and other Asian […]

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

Ecosystems Are Dying as Long Island Contends With a Nitrogen Bomb

November 4, 2015/in Groundwater, North America, Pollution, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Septic systems and nitrogen pollution are killing the island’s marine heritage By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Thousands of dead bunker fish and hundreds of diamondback turtles washed ashore last May in Peconic Bay on the east end of Long Island, New York. Fed by warming waters and a stream of nitrogen, a foul bloom 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

Federal Water Tap, November 2: Army Corps Endorses New Reservoir in Georgia

November 2, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown A county in northern Georgia wants to increase its water supply. Nitrate levels in U.S. rivers remain high despite a decline in the rate of nitrate discharge. State Department helps build water partnerships in Central Asia. A California recycled water project will undergo an environmental review. The House Science Committee will discuss Pebble […]

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