After a flood of water news the last few years — largely driven by the Colorado River crisis — nationally, media coverage of water issues declined by 33% in 2024 compared to 2023. Looking at the 10-year trend, the spike in water supply media coverage in 2021 and 2022 was perhaps the anomaly. Meanwhile, a recent Media Matters analysis of environmental justice coverage on broadcast news in 2024 found major gaps. Corporate broadcasters (like ABC and NBC) covered environmental justice less than PBS NewsHour, which aired 11 segments — highlighting the critical role of public media!
Trying to generate media coverage about our issues feels harder than ever
Today, there are more ways for people to get their news, even as news rooms continue to lay off staff. Journalists spread thin makes it a challenge to generate media coverage on our issues. So, we use our annual media scan to analyze trends in coverage around water supply, safety, access, and affordability to help us better understand what’s getting traction. Here’s what the headlines — and the gaps — revealed.
Water supply: All about weather whiplash
Drought dominated 2024 water coverage, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin and the Western U.S. New research linked climate change to reduced snowfall, depleted groundwater, and hotter, drier conditions. At the same time, heavy rains in the Upper Midwest, Texas, and California caused flooding as watersheds swung between extremes.
Coverage of major rivers like the Colorado and Mississippi focused on ongoing water-sharing negotiations and the challenges faced by farmers, alongside the strain agricultural runoff and intensive water use puts on rivers. While in coastal Louisiana, the threat of saltwater intrusion remained a top concern. A bright spot: More stories highlighted regenerative agriculture and floodplain restoration; however, funding and policy solutions remained underreported.
Water safety: PFAS, lead pipes, and unnatural disasters
Public health concerns drove much of the drinking water safety coverage, especially reporting about the threat of PFAS toxic forever chemicals and lead pipes. Last year, the EPA finalized new rules on both, drawing national attention. Narrative-driven stories, like this piece on the impact of lead poisoning on one Wisconsin family, grounded the issue in a story of home and health.
Hurricanes Beryl and Helene exposed the fragility of drinking water systems in the face of extreme weather, and cybersecurity threats popped up as a new topic related to drinking water safety and infrastructure.
Water access & affordability: Infrastructure at a breaking point
Media attention to water affordability programs was minimal, even as the first federal program to help people struggling with water bills, the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), ended. So we found media coverage of water access and affordability in 2024 was mainly shaped by a mix of chronic infrastructure failures and acute climate disruptions from Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton.
In the summer, Atlanta experienced major water main breaks and outages. The disruption in a major metropolitan area brought to light Atlanta’s long-standing water infrastructure struggles, and generated significant national attention. Further south, an in-depth Associated Press report on broken pipes and water loss in Prichard, Alabama connected the dots between infrastructure and water access and affordability.
What’s next?
Despite a decline in overall media coverage, water news in 2024 told a powerful story: climate change is testing America’s water systems. There’s an opportunity for journalists and community voices to keep water stories in the spotlight, not just during disasters, but during the day-to-day. Communities are working to build water systems more prepared for extremes, that restore ecosystems, work with nature, and keep water safe, and affordable for everybody. And that deserves our attention.
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