Brett Walton

Some day in the next 12 months – maybe in late-August, maybe not until next spring – Lake Mead will drop below the critical threshold of 1,035 feet above s

The country’s most severe drinking water problems, from high levels of contaminants and foul-smelling water to pipe breaks, low water pressure, and expensive rates, are generally found in the thousands of small systems that serve dozens of people up to a few thousand. These systems are public health crises waiting to emerge, said Denise Schmidt, […]

The Rundown And lastly, the EPA administrator says the agency won’t regulate data center water use. “While we hear these stories of the worst-case data center that is most controversial and has the most amount of opposition, we might hear less about the data center that is following all the best practices. It is important, […]

Decades ago, before it was much of a concern, water moved through the average U.S. home in enormous quantities. Toilets pulled 3.5 gallons per flush or more. Washing machines filled like tiny swimming pools. Water flowed and flowed. Things have tightened considerably since then. New data shows that U.S. homes are becoming ever more efficient […]

The Rundown And lastly, Democratic senators criticize the EPA’s reversal on coal ash regulations. “EPA has failed to identify new evidence or changed circumstances that justify abandoning or weakening these protections just two years later.” – Letter from Senate Democrats to Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, criticizing the agency’s proposals to weak federal oversight of […]

Gamblers now have a chance to put their money where the water isn’t. Kalshi, an online prediction market, is offering wagers on Lake Mead’s water level at the end of June. Prediction markets like Kalshi and its competitor Polymarket allow users to bet on the outcome of events – things like elections, interest rate decisions, […]

The Rundown And lastly, a Justice Department settlement with Chemours over the company’s PFAS water pollution angers top North Carolina officials. “This is not simply a temporary drought condition. I want to make clear that what we’re witnessing is a long-term shift in the baseline of conditions in the West’s water systems…Now is the time […]

The Rundown *The Federal Water Tap will be on summer break starting next week. The weekly briefing will resume on August 17.* And lastly, a USDA report outlines changes in manure management in the U.S. hog industry. “America must win the AI race, but working families should not be forced to subsidize it. No data […]

The iconic waterway, fundamental to the region’s modern existence – its desert metropolises, its high-tech industries, its agriculture, and its recreation economy – is on the verge of crashing. A two-decade drying trend, aided by carbon pollution in the atmosphere and water use that exceeds supply have

Uncover the origins of Legionnaires' disease illness linked to the 1976 Philadelphia conference and its tragic impact.