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

To Avoid Drought Calamity, Cape Town Restricts Water Use

May 30, 2017/in Africa, Drought, South Africa, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Reservoirs supplying city of 4 million are nearing bottom during record-setting drought. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue “If it’s yellow, let it mellow,” reads a May 24 post on the Cape Town city government’s Facebook page. “Flushing only when needed can help save up to 9 liters (2.4 gallons) of water per flush.” Every […]

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 Agency, in Course Correction, Courts Private Investment

May 25, 2017/in Infrastructure, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Bureau of Reclamation showcases five water projects for private investors. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue In early May, Bureau of Reclamation officials gathered the world’s top builders and bankers for a meeting at the Sheraton West hotel conference room in Lakewood, Colorado, a Denver suburb that abuts Rocky Mountain foothills. Reclamation faces a conundrum. […]

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 22: Interior Department Suspends Work of Advisory Committees

May 22, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown The Interior Department told dozens of advisory committees, including one on water data and monitoring, to halt work until September. An Air Force Base in Washington state continues to find private wells contaminated by firefighting chemicals. The initial Lake Erie algal forecast is for a mild bloom, though that could change with heavy […]

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

Price of Water 2017: Four Percent Increase in 30 Large U.S. Cities

May 18, 2017/in Water Management, Water News, Water Pricing/by Brett Walton

Utilities test new rates, look beyond the ratepayer for 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

Philadelphia Water Rate Links Payments to Household Income

May 16, 2017/in Water Management, Water News, Water Pricing/by Brett Walton

City utility prepares nation’s first water rate based on annual earnings. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Running for a Philadelphia City Council seat in November 2007, Maria Quinones-Sanchez won election as a champion of affordable housing. In office, Quinones-Sanchez and her staff soon discovered that housing was neither the beginning nor the end 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, May 15: EPA Bristol Bay Settlement Reopens Mine Permitting Process

May 15, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agrees to reconsider a copper mine in an Alaska watershed that feeds one of the world’s most productive salmon habitats. U.S. spy chief warns of water security threats in annual report to Congress. The Air Force provides bottled water to homes in Washington state whose wells were contaminated […]

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 Budget Deal Protects Water Programs

May 10, 2017/in Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

U.S. lawmakers decide not to scrap water spending. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue The Trump administration’s talk of slashing environmental programs in fiscal year 2018 did not translate into big cuts in a 2017 spending agreement negotiated by Congress. President Trump signed a budget deal on May 5 that keeps the government operating through […]

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 8: Water Programs Largely Protected in Budget Deal

May 8, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Congress decides not to scrap water spending. The U.S. Geological Survey finds arsenic and uranium in household drinking water wells in Connecticut. Lake Ontario water levels are the highest since 1993, prompting managers to release more water to minimize flooding. The Senate environment committee will discuss the private sector’s role in water while […]

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

Ideas for Understanding and Responding to the World’s Groundwater Challenge | PODCAST |

May 3, 2017/in Conservation / Environmental Restoration, Water Management/by Brett Walton

Large-scale exploitation of groundwater began in the 1950s and continues today. The water that flows underground and between soil particles gave rise to the Green Revolution in India and allows desert agriculture to flourish. It nourishes streams and springs and is the primary drinking water source for nearly half of the world’s people. Yet, due […]

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 1: EPA Website To Be Scrubbed of Obama Administration Influence

May 1, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Trump orders a review of national monument designations and a report on aiding rural communities and agriculture. The EPA water office holds a public listening session on Trump’s agenda to cut federal regulations. An Indian tribe in Montana approves a $US 471 million water rights settlement. A federal water loan program in Puerto […]

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, April 24: Lake Mead Receives Extra Water in High-Snowpack Year

April 24, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Lake Mead receives extra water but not as much as was hoped in March. A U.S.-Mexico task force releases a report on a February sewage spill in the Tijuana River. A federal judge greenlights a dam and fish bypass on the Yellowstone River. The USGS analyzes chemical contaminants in U.S. streams, finding most […]

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, April 21: Hawaiian River To Be Guaranteed Flowing Water

April 21, 2017/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

The Global Rundown An agreement to restore Hawaii’s Waimea River will result in continuously flowing water for the first time in more than a century. An Indian tribe in Arizona has to convince the U.S. government to join its lawsuit to restrict groundwater pumping above the Grand Canyon. Stanford researchers built an online map 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

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About Brett Walton

Entries by Brett Walton