Instructions for Authors

Please read through the following information before submitting your article. For submission instructions, please see our ‘How to Submit’ page: iwaponline.com/pages/how_to_submit.

General Information

Open Access Publication

All accepted papers are published open access and are freely available on our website (iwaponline.com) upon payment of the Article Processing Charge (APC). For more information, please follow this link: iwaponline.com/Open_Access/pages/publication_fees.

Permitted third party reuse of open access articles is determined by the author's choice of user licence (iwaponline.com/open_access/pages/licenses). The Rights and Permissions page (iwaponline.com/pages/rights_and_permissions) provides further information about licence agreements and the rights of the author to reuse your work.

IWA Publishing offers waivers for qualifying authors. Please find more information on our waivers page: iwaponline.com/open_access/pages/waivers.

Ethics in Publishing

You will be required to accept the IWA Publishing Ethics Statement for Authors when you submit your paper to the journal. The statement covers authorship, originality and conflicts of interest.

Please read through our Ethical Guidance to ensure your submission complies: iwaponline.com/pages/Ethical_Guidance.

Note that conference proceedings are a form of publication.

To verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service, CrossCheck: crossref.org/services/similarity-check/.  

Role of the Funding Source

You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, then this should be stated.

Research in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries

IWA Publishing welcomes publications with lead and co-authors from countries at all stages of development.

Submissions reporting on work undertaken in a country other than that of residence or citizenship of the authors should have involved active and substantive participation of individuals from the country concerned. These individuals should be partners and should be engaged as co-authors.

We will not publish any research without there being at least one author from the country where the research was undertaken. As such, papers submitted where this is not the case may be rejected. Exceptions include papers based on re-analysis of previously published data.

1. Preparation

Article Types

The following article types are available on all IWA Publishing journals:

• Research Paper: Fully documented, interpreted account of significant findings of original research. These articles should include discussion on contemporary research which is well embedded in the field. Eligible for APC payment
• Word Limit: 5000 - 8000 Words*
  *For Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, the word limit for Research Papers is 6000 words.
• Review Paper: Critical and comprehensive review that provides new insights or interpretation of a subject through thorough and systematic evaluation of available evidence well embedded in the field. Eligible for APC payment
• Word Limit: 8000 - 10,000 Words
• Commentary: Usually takes the form of a ‘letter’ and presents significant comments or questions about a work published in the relevant journal. A commentary would normally include substantiated disagreement with, or alternative interpretation of, one or more aspects of a paper. It would also normally discuss associated implications for the conclusions reached. Commentaries should be received within 3 months of the publication date of the paper on which they comment. Authors of potential commentaries are encouraged to enter into communication with the Editor-in-Chief before preparation or submission of text. While there is no word limit, commentaries should be brief and tightly focused. A commentary, if accepted, will normally be shared with the authors of the paper concerned who will be provided with an opportunity to respond.

Some journals also have journal-specific article types. Please see the table below for more information about the article type and which journals they are available in. 

Key:

'AQUA' = AQUA - Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society

'HYDR' = Journal of Hydroinformatics

'JW&C' = Journal of Water & Climate Change

'JW&H' = Journal of Water & Health

'WASH' = Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development

'WPOL' = Water Policy

'WP&T' = Water Practice & Technology

'WSUP' = Water Supply

Keeping Your Article Concise:

As well as the Word limits in the Article Types section, we have also included figure, table and reference limits below. As a guide, a research article should contain:

• Figures: 6 - 8
• Tables: 1 - 3
• References: 25 – 50

The suggested word, figure, table and reference limits are intended as a guide to ensure that the article is short and concise and more likely to attract readers. You can submit a paper that exceeds these limits, but the decision of whether your article and reference list are concise enough will ultimately be with the Editor.

Additional, non-essential figures and tables may be added to Supplementary Material.

We ask that you only use references that are relevant to your article.

Article Template

Our research article template provides a clear guide for formatting your paper. To download the template, please follow this link: Research Article Template.

Please note that for Review Papers, and articles which do not report primary research, the organisation of the paper can be different. The structure of the following Review Paper can be seen as an example:

Zukang Hu, Beiqing Chen, Wenlong Chen, Debao Tan, Dingtao Shen; ‘Review of model-based and data-driven approaches for leak detection and location in water distribution systems’, Water Supply, 1 November 2021, 21 (7): 3282–3306. DOI: doi.org/10.2166/ws.2021.101.

Article Structure

Papers should be well structured; they must comprise:

• Title: The title of article should concisely and accurately specify the subject of your paper, it should not contain abbreviations
• Author name(s), affiliation details and email addresses for each Author. Author names must be listed in correct order, with affiliation details for where the research took place. We encourage authors to include ORCID IDs, which will be requested on submission. Please indicate who the Corresponding Author is.
• Abstract: The abstract should be no more than 200 words briefly specifying the aims of the work, the main results obtained, and the conclusions drawn. Citations must not be included in the Abstract. Abbreviations should also be avoided. 
• Keywords: up to 6 keywords (in alphabetical order). The keywords should indicate the main subject matter of your paper and will help potential readers to search for your paper.  
• Highlights (up to 425 characters total): Up to 5 numbered points which capture the novelty and/or the impact of your research. The highlights should help increase the discoverability of your article. Ensure the highlights are concise, easy to read, and include key search terms (you should not simply rewrite the abstract).
• Graphical Abstract: This summarises the content of the article in a concise, pictorial form, offering readers an at-a-glance visualisation of your paper via a single, concise image. Graphical abstracts are optional, but helpful for readers and for the promotion of your paper.
• Main text: For clarity this should be subdivided into:
  • Introduction: Should include a brief description of the background context for the work including research rationale/context, clearly identifying the scientific question(s) and their international (or regional) significance. It should include a succinct review/state-of-the-art synthesis of the directly relevant published international literature. The research aims and objectives should be clearly stated.
  • Study area and data (required in Hydrology Research only): Should describe the location, size, geographical and relevant climatic and other conditions of the region. It should clearly describe all the data used and their sources, including data periods, temporal resolution, limitations, quality, etc. Use of tables is encouraged where appropriate.
  • Methods: A brief description of the methods/techniques used (the principles of these methods should not be described if readers can be directed to easily accessible references or standard texts).
  • Results and Discussion: A clear presentation of experimental results obtained, highlighting the significance and implications of the work reported, particularly focusing on the novel contributions or new insights to the topic area. Please note that Results and Discussion can be separate sections, if needed.
  • Conclusions: A brief statement of what was undertaken in the study (one or two sentences) followed by what was established relative to the stated aims and objectives. Where relevant this should include a brief summary of your argument. Where appropriate, clearly identified recommendations for action and/or research needs should follow.
• References: References should be to accessible sources and must be relevant to the content of the article. Please ensure that all work cited in the text is included in the reference list, and that the dates and authors given in the text match those in the reference list. References must always be unambiguous and should be given in sufficient detail for the reader to locate the work cited. Note that your paper is at risk of rejection if a disproportionate share of the references cited are your own.
• Supplementary Material: Appendices and other Supplementary Material are permitted and will be published in the exact format in which they are submitted. Any supplementary material should be included during the submission process for evaluation by the reviewers.
• Data: To allow for replication studies, we encourage that all raw data is available as supplementary material or on request during peer review or after publication, e.g. provided via a URL to a public repository. Data should be presented in a format that facilitates readability and reuse. For further information, please see our Ethical Guidance: iwaponline.com/pages/Ethical_Guidance.

Please double space the main text and use line and page numbering throughout the paper.

Figures:

All figures and tables should be embedded in the text where possible, unless otherwise requested by the publisher.

Figures should appear in numerical order, be described in the body of the text and be positioned close to where they are first cited. Each figure should have a figure legend which describes the illustration, and that can be understood independently of the main text. The figure legend should be just beneath the figure and not on the figure itself.

The journal is published online with colour graphics. Please be aware that if printing your article, low contrast colours will not show clearly.

Because figures may be resized in the course of Production, please use scale bars and not magnification factors.

Tables:

Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them does not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules.

References

For detailed referencing instructions, please see the Article Template, which can be downloaded via this link.

List of References:

IWA Publishing uses Harvard referencing style. References should be listed alphabetically at the end of the paper. Although "et al." is preferable in the text, in the list of references all authors should be given.

Reference Links:

We use digital object identifiers (DOIs) to link references to the source material. This can only be done if the data provided in the references are correct. Please be very careful, especially when copying references, to ensure that surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination are all correct. Please include DOIs where available.

References in languages other than English:

References in languages other than English should be accompanied by an English translation of the article title. For example:

Barjenbruch M., Erler C & Steinke M. 2003 Untersuchungen an Abwasserteichanlagen in Sachsen-Anhalt im Jahr 2003 (Investigation on wastewater lagoons in Saxony-Anhalt in 2003), Report for the Environment Ministry of Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg, Germany

File Types

Word files are the preferred file format for submission, however, IWA Publishing also accepts PDF files. Please note that Authors should not add their own macros in Word files.

We also accept papers written in LaTeX, which should be submitted as PDF files. We ask that authors follow the standard format for article structure.

At initial submission, please supply only the final version of your file (with no hidden text), to avoid any risk of old versions of the text being used in error.

Following acceptance, we will request editable files, such as Word and LaTeX files, as these are necessary to allow us to typeset your article.

Nomenclature and Units

Please take care that all terminology and notation used will be widely understood. Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out in full at their first occurrence in the text.

SI units are strongly recommended. If non-SI units must be used, SI equivalents (or conversion factors) must also be given. Please use the spellings 'litre' and 'metre' (a 'meter' is a measuring instrument).

Write equations in dimensionless form or in metric units. Please use italic letters to denote variables (in text or in displayed equations).

Recommendation of New IWA Notation System for Water and Wastewater Modelling:

In describing water treatment processes authors should consult Corominas et al. (2010). New framework for standardized notation in wastewater treatment modelling. Water Science & Technology, 61(4), 841-857 (doi.org/10.2166/wst.2010.912). To further the widespread use of this notation, IWA Publishing decided to make this paper open access.

The notation was developed by a group of distinguished modelers out of a WWTmod2008 workshop and is supported by the IWA Task Groups on Good Modelling Practice (GMP), Benchmarking of Control Strategies (BSM), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) Modelling Expert Group of the Americas (MEGA). It has also received a wide endorsement within the modelling community.

The new notation will help the community to assist in model communication, allow for direct model comparisons, and facilitate understanding of newly developed models. The paper by Corominas et al. (2010) aims at standardizing naming rules and provides examples for already published models.

The Good Modelling Practice (GMP) Task Group will take on the task to provide assistance with any question that you may have. Please contact the journal office.

Language

Papers must be in good, grammatically correct English. If your paper is not understood by the Editor, it may be rejected prior to peer review.

If you think your article would benefit from language improvement, you may wish to seek the assistance of a colleague or professional translator. IWA Publishing has partnered with Eloquenti to provide you with a 5% discount on peer-to-peer proofreading services. You can use the code IWAPublishing23.

Author Contributions

As outlined in IWA Publishing’s Ethical Guidance (iwaponline.com/pages/Ethical_Guidance), to increase transparency, IWA Publishing encourages authors to include a full list of author contributions in their manuscripts. This can be included as an additional page as part of the submission items. It should be clearly stated how each author contributed to the research/paper. Please note that this is in addition to the co-author email verification policy.

While this is not mandatory, these may be requested in cases where there are concerns regarding authorship. Authors should refer to CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy – credit.niso.org) for guidance.

2. Submission

When you are ready to submit your paper, please follow the instructions provided on our ‘How to Submit’ page: iwaponline.com/pages/how_to_submit.

3. After Acceptance

Co-Author Verification

Co-authors are encouraged to verify their involvement as early as possible following submission. Please note that after a paper has been accepted, we cannot begin Production until all co-authors have verified, either by responding to the co-author verification emails or within Editorial Manager.

Checking Your Proof

The Corresponding Author will be notified via the online system when proofs are ready for checking. Any corrections must be returned within one week of receipt and should only cover typesetting errors. Proofreading is the sole responsibility of the authors.

The DOI (digital object identifier) is used to cite and link to your paper online and is assigned to your paper when the first proof is generated. This unique code will not change, meaning you can cite an Uncorrected Proof immediately using the DOI.

You should ensure you check your proofs carefully, as this will be the final opportunity to make amendments prior to the version of record being published. Minor changes can be made at proof stage but any changes that may alter the conclusions of the article will be reviewed by an editor. 

Offprints

As soon as the article has been published online, the Corresponding Author will receive a customized link to the article, which they are encouraged to share via any communication channel, including e-mail and social media.

The Corresponding Author will receive an electronic file of the final version of the article when it has been published in an issue. Authors are free to print and share this file as they wish. The article PDF is downloadable and is also accessible online.

Corrections

If you believe there is a scientifically relevant issue within the published article, please contact our Production Team ([email protected]) to request a correction.

Relevant reasons for a correction and further information are included on our Ethical Guidance page: iwaponline.com/pages/ethical_guidance.

Author Inquiries

If you have any questions, please contact the Editorial Office:

Email: [email protected]

Journal Links

We have included the links to the Aims and Scope pages, Editorial Manager platforms and APC information for all of the journals below. Before submitting, please read through our ‘How to Submit’ instructions here: iwaponline.com/pages/how_to_submit.