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, July 8: How to Make Strategic Cuts to Groundwater Monitoring Networks

July 8, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Eliminate the Redundant A U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist developed a model to help water managers decide which groundwater monitoring wells to cut in order to maintain quality data while reducing costs. Jason Fisher tested his model, which is based on how chromosomes interact, on two groundwater monitoring networks in Idaho. The tool works in the […]

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 1: President Obama’s Climate Change Plan

July 1, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Regulate, Innovate, and Adapt That is the crux of President Barack Obama’s climate change plan, unveiled in a speech last Tuesday at Georgetown University and in an accompanying 21-page document. The president proposed actions, with the exception of his budgetary aspirations, that need no endorsement from Congress. In a move sure to face legal challenges, […]

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

This Seattle Office Building Has Composting Toilets…

June 27, 2013/in /by Brett Walton

And solar panels. And rainwater tanks. Plus geothermal heating and sustainable timber. But is it the right model for the next generation of urban infrastructure? Photo © Brett Walton The Bullitt Center in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is designed to make you say, “Wow.” To capture enough sunlight to generate its own electricity, a solar […]

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

New Evidence Shows Fracking Contaminates Groundwater in Pennsylvania

June 25, 2013/in Fracking, Groundwater, North America, Pollution, Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

A Duke University study finds methane in drinking water wells, along with two additional gases associated only with shale gas extraction. Photo © Robert B. Jackson A natural gas drilling site operates adjacent to a farm in northeastern Pennsylvania. Drinking water wells within one kilometer of drilling sites show higher levels of methane, according 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, June 24: EPA Fracking Studies Delayed and Terminated; President Obama to Speak on Climate Change

June 24, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Fracking Studies The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s comprehensive study of the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water supplies will be delayed for two years, until 2016. An EPA official made the statement at a shale gas conference in Ohio last week, according to the Associated Press. The EPA also announced that it would abandon […]

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

Western U.S. Water Utilities Take Financial Responsibility for Reducing Watershed Wildfire Risk

June 20, 2013/in Drought, Infrastructure, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

When residents in Santa Fe, New Mexico pay their water bills, they are now also paying for forest restoration. Photo © US Forest Service/Mike Stearly An AmeriCorps crew performs bank stabilization work at the site of the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Projects like this will be enhanced with the partnership between […]

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 17: U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Oklahoma in Water Case

June 17, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

An interstate compact allocating supplies from the Red River does not allow Texas to pull water from within Oklahoma’s borders, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week. Writing for the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argues that if the drafters of the Red River Compact meant for Texas to be able to draw water from […]

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

Satellite Data Shows U.S. Water ‘Hotspots’

June 13, 2013/in California, Drought, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Scientists who use the GRACE satellite say they need more resources to maximize its usefulness – for predicting floods and droughts. Graphic © J. S. Famiglietti and M. Rodell, Water in the Balance, Science, 340, 1300 (2013). Figure appears as Figure S1 in Supplementary Online Materials. Prepared by Caroline de Linage, UC Irvine and Preston […]

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

EPA Water Infrastructure Survey Reveals Little About Utilities’ Climate Readiness

June 12, 2013/in Infrastructure, North America, Water News/by Brett Walton

Though few reported climate change adaptation projects to the EPA, utilities are preparing in other ways. By Brett Walton Circle of Blue Every four years, as required by Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sends a survey to water utilities asking them to assess their infrastructure plans for the next two decades. The survey covers […]

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 10: EPA Water Infrastructure Survey Also Asks About Climate Change

June 10, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Pipe Schemes U.S. water utilities will need to spend $US 384 billion between 2011 and 2030 to maintain adequate drinking water service, according to an Environmental Protection Agency infrastructure report to Congress. Prepared every four years, the report is used to allocate money to the states from a federal loan program for drinking water projects. […]

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

The Price of Water 2013: Up Nearly 7 Percent in Last Year in 30 Major U.S. Cities; 25 Percent Rise Since 2010

June 5, 2013/in California, California Drought, North America, Water News, Water Pricing/by Brett Walton

Utilities tinker with rate structures designed to stabilize revenue.

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 3: U.S. Farm Conservation Programs Double As Drought Adaptation, Study Finds

June 3, 2013/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Farmers in regions of the U.S. facing a higher risk of drought are more likely to enroll in federal land and water conservation programs, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study. The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers not to plant on land that is easily eroded, and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program promotes farming […]

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