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

Draft USGS Water Strategy Collides With Tough Budget Situation

June 8, 2012/in Great Lakes, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Some key programs identified in the draft, which was released earlier this week, are also facing budget cuts for the 2013 fiscal year. Photo courtesy of Jennifer LaVista, USGS USGS scientist Paul Frederick manually checks the water levels near a streamgage on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Brett Walton Circle of Blue Data […]

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 Stream, June 7: Drugs and Hormones in Water Supplies

June 7, 2012/in Great Lakes, The Stream/by Brett Walton

Biochemistry Scientists at Idaho State University experimenting with a species of minnow found that low levels of antidepressants altered the genes associated with autism in humans, the New Scientist reports. Next, the researchers will test the effect on mice. Estrogen in wastewater lagoons on large dairy farms was shown to persist in water supplies 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

The Stream, June 5: Climate Change, Water, and Electricity

June 5, 2012/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

Investments Because climate change will make rivers warmer and reduce their flow, the generating capacity for coal-fired and nuclear power plants—which rely on water for cooling—will decrease by between 4 and 16 percent in the U.S. and between 6 and 19 percent in Europe in the years 2031-2060, Reuters reports, citing a study published 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

The Stream, June 4: Water Riot in India

June 4, 2012/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

Conflict A Hindu youth who washed himself with water meant for food preparation for Muslims leaving Friday prayers set off riots between the two religious groups in India’s most populous state. The Indian Express reports that 4 people were killed in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. Aid workers in Africa’s Sahel worry that 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, June 4: Water Pollution from Mexico Spurs Lawsuit

June 4, 2012/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. section of the agency that administers water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, according to Nogales International. The lawsuit claims that the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission is violating the Clean Water Act by allowing untreated industrial wastewater to flow from Mexico into […]

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

Water Law: $105 Million Settlement in Water Pollution Lawsuit Between Swiss Company and U.S. Communities

June 1, 2012/in North America, Pollution, Sanitation/Health, Water Law, Water News/by Brett Walton

Nearly 2,000 communities in the United States will be eligible for money to filter atrazine, a popular weedkiller, from their drinking water. Last Friday, Swiss chemicals company Syngenta announced a proposed $US 105 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by communities in six Midwestern U.S. states who claimed that atrazine — one of 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

Oklahoma Sets Ambitious Goal for Water Conservation

June 1, 2012/in Infrastructure, North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Oklahoma’s governor has signed a bill that would limit freshwater consumption in 2060 to current levels, while expanding the use of marginal sources, despite a projected 28 percent increase in population and 33 percent increase in consumptive demand.

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 Stream, May 31: Pollution, Political Privilege Saddle India’s Water Resources

May 31, 2012/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

Despite fistfuls of money and decades of “action plans,” pollution in India’s Yamuna River, a Ganges tributary, has only gotten worse. The Hindu asks, “Is the Yamuna beyond help?” The Times of India reports that water in Maharashtra state designated for irrigation is being diverted by government agencies to power stations. Energy South Africa won […]

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

Reports on Oil Shale Development, Water Infrastructure Financing

May 31, 2012/in Water News/by Brett Walton

Better investing through better information. Ceres, a coalition of businesses, investors and environmental groups, peddles information, particularly about risk. Climate risk, water risk, supply chain risk: no sector goes untouched. Knowledge—and better dissemination of it—is the Boston-based group’s version of the prosperity gospel. Spread the good data, and worthier investments will flow forth. Two recent […]

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 Stream, May 29: Clean Up Your Fracking Mess

May 29, 2012/in Mining, The Stream/by Brett Walton

Wastewater America’s natural gas boom has an undesirable companion: billions of gallons of polluted wastewater. The Houston Chronicle reports on the “billion-dollar game of musical chairs” that is going on as companies try to be first in line with new treatment technologies. Meanwhile, Scientific American looks at the technical challenges confronting those companies—and the new […]

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, May 28: Water, Snow and Fire

May 28, 2012/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that a pollution permit, called a NPDES permit in the lingo, will not be necessary for stormwater coming from logging roads. The agency will continue to study the best way to reduce sediment runoff from what it calls “a relatively small subset” of roads that affect stream quality. Powder […]

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 Stream, May 28: Up in Arms Over the Murray-Darling Basin Plan

May 28, 2012/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

A revised management plan—with no change to surface water limits, but an even stricter cap on groundwater withdrawals—for Australia’s Murray-Darling river basin has infuriated many groups, especially farmers. The head of the New South Wales irrigators council called for revisions, lest “social and economic Armageddon” come to farm communities. Victoria’s water minister labeled the plan […]

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