Entries by Brett Walton

Federal Water Tap, July 14: White House Threatens Veto of House Water and Energy Bill

The House Appropriations Committee passed a $US 34 billion bill on Thursday to fund the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, which handles western U.S. water matters, and the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of many levees, dams, and wetlands. The White House threatened to veto the bill, making several […]

The Stream, July 14: Slow Start to Monsoon Worries India’s Farm and Power Sectors

After a delayed arrival of the annual monsoon, farmers in northern India are shifting crops and preparing for drought, Business Standard reports. Though heavy rains fell on Sunday in northern India, seasonal precipitation is just 43 percent of normal, the worst since 2009. Hydroelectric power generation will also drop, more so in the south where […]

U.S. State Water Plans Are Ready for Review

A year of water planning reaches the halfway point. Three U.S. states with anticipated water supply deficits in the coming decades reached milestones in July in their deliberations on how to meet the demands of cities, farmers, and industries. Arkansas and Kansas submitted draft water plans last week for public review. Later this month Colorado’s […]

The Stream, July 11: New Indian Government’s First Budget Includes Water Projects

Improvements to Delhi’s water supply system, assessments of canals that will link major rivers, solar pumps for irrigation wells, and a proposal to clean up the Ganges River are all included in the first budget from Narendra Modi, India’s newly elected prime minister. Of those initiatives, the Ganges garners the largest piece of the pie, […]

The Stream, July 10: California Considers Mandatory Outdoor Water Restrictions

Because California’s cities have not cut water use in line with recommendations during a historic drought, state regulators proposed a set of mandatory restrictions to curb excessive lawn watering, sidewalk spraying, and car washing, the Los Angeles Times reports. The water board will hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss the proposal. If adopted the rules […]

Federal Water Tap, July 7: Algae Research, Lake Mead, Hydropower

President Obama signed legislation that authorizes $US 82 million over four years for researching and responding to harmful algae blooms. A federal task force, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, must prepare a plan within two years for reducing algae blooms in the Great Lakes. An existing task force must file a progress […]

Lake Mead Drains to Record Low As Western Drought Deepens

Despite drying conditions, four states plan additional water projects. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Lake Mead — America’s largest reservoir, Las Vegas’ main water source, and an important indicator for water supplies in the Southwest — will fall this week to its lowest level since 1937 when the manmade lake was first being filled, […]

Federal Water Tap, June 30: Dead Zone and Algae Forecasts for U.S. Waters

Computer models forecast a low-oxygen “dead zone” of average size for the Gulf of Mexico this summer and a slightly above-average fish-suffocation zone for the Chesapeake Bay, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The standard unit for comparing the size of dead zones is the “New England state.” The Gulf of Mexico will […]

‘Risky Business’ Report Says Two Things about Water — One Is Obvious, the Other Is Not

Water is largely ignored in a report about U.S. economic risks of climate change. Three rich and powerful men — former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson, and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer — want business leaders and investors to understand global warming in financial terms: as a significant […]

Federal Water Tap, June 23: Water and Energy Grab the Spotlight

A new Department of Energy report on the connections between water and energy marks a path for the department’s research into the twinned challenges. Between phrases such as “opportunity space” and “technology continuum” the authors argue that the department’s role is three-fold: researching the technologies that will improve efficiencies and allow polluted waters to be […]

Failed Ballot Measure Is Setback for Ogallala Water Conservation in Western Kansas

A plan to reduce water use by 20 percent was voted down last week. Photo © Brian Lehmann / Circle of Blue Water spurts from a fresh well, drilled into the Ogallala Aquifer in southwest Kansas. Water from the aquifer sustains the region’s industrial farm economy. Click image to enlarge. By Brett Walton Circle of […]

Federal Water Tap, June 16: A Legacy of Water Contaminated by Energy Development in the Northern Great Plains

Inadequate waste disposal practices from more than a century of oil and gas development — practices that are no longer permitted — are the chief source of salty brines in the waters of the Williston Basin, according to U.S. Geological Survey research. The Williston Basin, one of the nation’s critical bird habitats and one of […]