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, January 11: U.S. Officials Begin Scrutinizing Flint Water Crisis

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

The Rundown Federal officials eye Flint. The Army Corps opens a rarely used Mississippi River spillway. The Bureau of Reclamation reconsiders a Yellowstone River dam and signs a water agreement for the Truckee River. A New York congressman calls for more federal dollars for water infrastructure. The Agriculture Secretary supports an Iowa sales tax. Draft […]

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 Water Board to Investigate Use of Oilfield Wastewater to Irrigate Crops

January 11, 2016/in United States, Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

Expert panel will assess safety of eating food grown with treated wastewater Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue Kern County is the center of California’s oil industry. The practice of treating and reusing oilfield wastewater for irrigation is coming under greater scrutiny. By Brett Walton Circle of Blue On January 12, 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

2016 Preview: Investors Will See Tighter Connection Between Water and Climate

January 8, 2016/in Water & Climate, Water News/by Brett Walton

Finance and environmental groups develop new standards for evaluating water risk Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue DC Water, which provides wastewater service for 2.3 million people at its Blue Plains facility, shown above, issued in 2014 the first certified green bond by a U.S. water utility. The $US 350 million bond […]

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

Infographic: Brackish Water Desalination Plants in Texas

January 5, 2016/in United States, Water News/by Brett Walton

Less salty than the sea, brackish water is poised for wider use in Texas Forty-six desalination plants in Texas turn salty water drinkable. None, however, is located on the coast. All are inland and use brackish water. As fresh water grows scarcer, the hunt for new supplies is expanding outward, to sources formerly on 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

2016 Preview: Brackish Groundwater Takes a Star Turn

January 4, 2016/in Infrastructure, United States, Water News/by Brett Walton

In the perpetual search for water supplies, a salty upstart will be in the spotlight Photo courtesy of San Antonio Water System San Antonio’s brackish water desalination plant, being built in stages, will be the world’s largest inland desalination facility when it is completed in 2022. The first phase will begin delivering drinking water 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, January 4: Congress Fails to Act on Klamath Basin Agreements

January 4, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown The EPA delays strontium regulations. Expect an active EPA in 2016. Klamath Basin agreements expire. Forest Service finalizes revised water rights rule for ski areas. CRS summarizes drought legislation. Oklahoma counties are named disaster areas. “A broad policy question is whether the issue that Congress is addressing is the current Western drought, drought […]

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, December 28: U.S. Needs More Water Data

December 28, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Water managers need more information. Streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin are fed in large part by groundwater. Congress passes a microbead ban. Growth in India’s farm sector was driven by increased groundwater irrigation. “At the level at which one makes management decisions, I would say that we are still data limited.” […]

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

America’s Septic System Failures Can Be Fixed

December 21, 2015/in Water Management/by Brett Walton

Solutions require new thinking about wastewater treatment By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Conceived as a low-cost, low-tech means of disposing toilet waste in rural communities without sewers, septic systems have become a leading cause of the toxic algae blooms that, like a rainbow cloak, drape across lakes, bays, and coastal shorelines on Cape Cod, […]

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, December 21: White House Announces Water Innovation Strategy

December 21, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Obama administration wants to jumpstart water technology. Congressional budget deal clinches water funding while a separate rural water bill passes Congress. An Arkansas representative wants to incentivize groundwater conservation. Government watchdog chides the EPA’s promotion of the Clean Water Rule on social media. Federal officials tell Colorado River states to fix chronic water […]

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

Hookworm Infections and Sanitation Failures Plague Rural Alabama

December 17, 2015/in Infrastructure, Sanitation/Health, Water Management/by Brett Walton

New civil rights movement emerges around septic system pollution By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue A measure of desperation and disease, parasitic infections caused by hookworms are seen by medical specialists as a powerful betrayal of civic progress. More than 700 million people worldwide, many of them children, are infected by a microscopic worm that […]

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 Gained Stature at Paris Climate Talks

December 15, 2015/in Water & Climate, Water News/by Brett Walton

Though not mentioned in the final agreement, water nonetheless firmly staked a spot in the global climate agenda By Brett Walton Circle of Blue Just before midnight on December 12, the crowd at Le Bourget conference center in Paris was euphoric. One hundred ninety five countries, bucking past failures, had just signed a groundbreaking agreement […]

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, December 14: United States Signs Paris Climate Agreement

December 14, 2015/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown World leaders produce an agreement for reducing carbon pollution. Mexico owes the United States some Rio Grande water. After California drought bill dries up, finger-pointing begins. House passes microbead ban. An Oregon fish is removed from the endangered species list. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes new oil and gas rules for wildlife […]

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

Author Archive for: Brett

About Brett Walton

Entries by Brett Walton