Aims & Scope
The Journal of Water Science is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by Directive Publications, advancing scholarship across hydrology, water resources management, water quality and hydraulic engineering. It serves as an interdisciplinary venue for researchers, engineers and practitioners studying the movement, distribution, quality and sustainable use of water in natural and engineered systems.
The journal welcomes original research, reviews, case reports and editorials on surface-water and groundwater hydrology, hydrological and hydraulic modelling, evapotranspiration, streamflow and baseflow processes, groundwater recharge, soil water retention, and ecohydrology of arid and semi-arid regions. We also publish work on water quality assessment, drinking and packaged water safety, reservoir operation, water governance and the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to hydrologic forecasting.
Methodological contributions spanning field measurement, physical and numerical modelling, remote sensing and data-driven analysis are encouraged, alongside studies on climate-change impacts on hydrological response and integrated water resources management.
Every submission undergoes double-blind peer review. Accepted articles are published open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) licence with authors retaining copyright, are assigned a permanent Crossref DOI, and are made discoverable through OpenAlex, Google Scholar and an OAI-PMH endpoint. The journal follows COPE ethical principles.
Subject Coverage
Journal of Water Science welcomes original research, reviews, and case reports across the following core areas:
Research Topics
Core subject areas published in Journal of Water Science — explore related research across our journals.
Articles
Water Governance And Attention A Setting Of The Agenda
Methods And Uses In Water Engineering And Science
Ecohydrological Developments For The Optimization Of Water Resources In Arid And Semi Arid Regions
Developments In Water Resources Management And Hydrologic Forecasting
Frequently Asked Questions
What topics does the Journal of Water Science cover?
The Journal of Water Science covers hydrology, water resources management, water quality, hydraulic and environmental engineering, and ecohydrology. Typical themes include hydrological and hydraulic modelling, evapotranspiration, streamflow and baseflow, groundwater recharge, soil water retention, reservoir operation, water governance, drinking and packaged water quality, and machine-learning applications to hydrologic forecasting.
Who should read and publish in the Journal of Water Science?
The journal is aimed at hydrologists, water resources engineers, environmental and hydraulic engineers, ecohydrologists, water-quality scientists, and policymakers working on water governance. Researchers and practitioners studying surface water, groundwater, water supply, or climate impacts on the water cycle are well suited to publish here.
How do I submit a manuscript to the Journal of Water Science?
You can submit through the journal's submission page on Directive Publications. We accept original research articles, reviews, case reports and editorials in water science. Each manuscript should fall within the journal's scope of hydrology, water resources, water quality or hydraulic engineering, and follow our author guidelines for formatting, ethics and data availability.
What types of articles does the Journal of Water Science accept?
The journal publishes original research articles, review articles, case reports, special-issue contributions and editorials. We welcome empirical field studies, physical and numerical modelling work, data-driven and machine-learning analyses, and methodological or review papers on water science topics such as hydrologic forecasting, water resources management and water quality.
Is the Journal of Water Science open access, and what licence is used?
Yes. The Journal of Water Science is fully open access. All accepted articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) licence, meaning authors retain copyright while readers can freely access, share and reuse the work with attribution. Each article receives a permanent Crossref DOI for citability.
How does peer review work at the Journal of Water Science?
Every submission undergoes double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are mutually concealed to support impartial evaluation. Manuscripts are assessed for scientific rigour, originality and relevance to water science. The journal follows COPE ethical principles for handling research, authorship and publication integrity.
Are there article-processing charges or waivers for the Journal of Water Science?
As an open-access journal, the Journal of Water Science applies an article-processing charge on acceptance to support open publication, indexing and long-term preservation. Waivers and discounts are available; authors who need support are encouraged to contact the editorial office. There are no submission fees and no charges to read articles.
Where are Journal of Water Science articles indexed and discoverable?
Articles are discoverable through OpenAlex and Google Scholar, carry permanent Crossref DOIs, and are exposed via an OAI-PMH endpoint for harvesting by external services. As a new open-access title, the journal is also preparing applications for further scholarly indexes and is eligible to expand its discoverability over time.