Moira Mcdonald, senior program officer for the Walton Family Foundation’s Freshwater Conservation Initiative, stopped by Java Joe’s on Fourth Street a few weeks ago to talk to me about Walton’s water work.

There were a couple of points that hit close to home. Mcdonald and her colleagues are closely following the work on water quality in Iowa, because Walton is backing a huge look at Mississippi River issues. She was glad to see legislation passed in Iowa that will mean a steady flow of cash for conservation work — even if it isn’t as much as some hoped.

“We’re happy to see something happen,” Mcdonald said. “That said, we understand there is a need to do a lot more. That isn’t going to solve the problem.”

Walton is trying to do its part.

“We are doing more and more to increase the implementation of the Nutrient Reduction Strategy,” Mcdonald said, referring to the blueprint for voluntary actions by farmers to reduce soil and chemical runoff. That includes directly talking to farmers, in the case of Walton’s network of workers. 

But Walton also addressed the other end of the drainage issue — the Gulf of Mexico, where runoff from the Midwest is a big contributor to seasonal low oxygen that disrupts a lucrative fishing industry. 

Walton paid for two positions on a team at the New Orleans Times Picayune that worked with colleagues at the New York Times on a recent project that examines coastal erosion issues. You can see the comprehensive and compelling series at http://bit.ly/2EUn40x