Top Water & Ocean Stories From SEJournal

Updated September 2026

TipSheets

• Oysters, Boisterous or Scarce, Fuel Local Environment Stories [2]
• National Seashores Are a Secret Summer Treasure [3]
• Wild and Scenic Rivers Carry a Raft of Great Stories [4]
• Recreation in Polluted Water Can Be Threat to Human Health [5]
• Mapping Out Local PFAS Risk, As Federal Rules Waver [6]
• Beach Nourishment Offers Challenging Local Environmental Stories [7]
• Drainage Infrastructure Leads to Wet Basement Stories [8]
• Reemerging Wetlands Controversy Brings Local Angles [9]
• Seabed Mining May Dredge Up Real Minerals, Fishy Worries in 2024 [10]
• The Spread of Harmful Algal Blooms Makes News in Multitude of Locales [11]
• Dangerous Inland Flooding in Reporters’ Forecast [12]
• Reporters Can Address Uncertainty Over Local Risk of Rising Seas [13]
• Seasonal Fishing Stories Reflect a Changing Environment [14]
• Bring Home Cyber Risks to Water Supply, in Wake of EPA Tightening [15]

Toolboxes

• Report on PFAS Better, With a Better Mapping Tool [16]
• Database of Flood Events Helps Cover Catastrophes, Past or Present [17]
• Drinking Water Database Opens Spigot on Local Stories [18]
• Trump Administration Icing Out NSIDC Data [19]
• Lead Pipe Data Map Offers Sharp New Tool [20]
• Will DOGE Evaporate Crucial Water Data? [21]
• Watershed Data … for the Rest of Us [22]
• Dredging for Data on Wetlands Permits [23]
• Data Portal Takes Measure of Water Quality [24]

Backgrounders

• Coastal Flooding Challenges Cities Around the U.S. [25]
• Will the Coming Plastics Treaty Solve the Problem Or Enshrine It? [26]
• U.S. Offshore Wind May Not Stay Becalmed for Long [27]
• Painful Process Underway of Regulating PFAS in Drinking Water [28]
• WTO Deal on Fishing Subsidies May Reduce Ocean Overfishing [29]
• Supreme Court Winds Up for Another Swing at Clean Water Act [30]
• Climate Crisis May Quickly Confront U.S., World With National Security Threats [31]

Features and More

• Voices of Environmental Justice: Unpacking Puerto Rico’s Water Crisis [32]
• Feature: Exploring the Impacts of Hydroelectric Megaprojects on Indigenous Lands [33]
• Feature: Going Beyond Sensational Drought Headlines Gives Local Audiences News They Need [34]
• Feature: On the Persistence of Ocean Plastics [35]
• Feature: Why Reporters Should Catch the Watershed by the Tale [36]
• EJTransition Watch: Is Fluoride Facing Phaseout in Your Community’s Drinking Water? [37]
• SEJ News: Time To Flip the Ocean Script — From Victim to Solution [38]

Inside Story Q&As and FEJ StoryLogs

• Inside Story: Catch-22 on the Baltic — Twilight of Poland’s Coastal Fisherman [39]
• Inside Story: ‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [40]
• Inside Story: The Forgotten Victims of Hidalgo [41]
• Inside Story: Prize Winner Spurs Policy Change on Illinois PFAS Contamination [42]
• Inside Story: Unique Award-Winner Highlights Risks to Whales From Fight Over Fish [43]
• Inside Story: Uncovering the Environmental Impacts of a Controversial Water Project [44]
• Inside Story: Diving Deeper on the Wetlands Beat Yields Groundbreaking Coverage [45]
• Inside Story: Pulitzer Finalist on an Estuary’s Tale, and Stories Hiding in Plain Sight [46]
• FEJ StoryLog: One Grant, Multiple Stories [47]
• FEJ StoryLog: Grantee Wades Into Surprising Blue-Green Algae Problem [48]

BookShelf Reviews

• Kelp — The Understory, Underwater [49]
• Is Our Inextricable Link to Water the Key to Human Survival? [50]
• How the Potomac Imparts the Capital’s Story [51]
• Author Brings Far-Reaching Insight to ‘The Three Ages of Water’ [52]
• Between the Lines — Great Lakes Author Looks Back on a Writing Career, Forward to Journalism’s Future [53]
• Tracing Humanity’s Longtime Urge To Manage Moving Water [54]
• Author Shares Unorthodox Look at the Ways of Water [55]
• “Saving America’s Amazon: The Threat to Our Nation’s Most Biodiverse River System” [56]

Special Report: Covering Climate Solutions

• Reporting Ocean Stories Is Key to Blue Literacy, Planetary Health [57]
• Ocean and Climate Change Toolbox [58]

 

All Water & Ocean Stories From SEJournal [59]     All Water & Ocean Headlines From EJToday [60]

Return to Topics on the Beat main page [61]