Journal profile · Environmental Science-Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
H2Open Journal
ISSN 2616-6518 · IWA Publishing · United Kingdom
H2Open Journal: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.5 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,000; review about 24 weeks (community reports); 30 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
H2Open Journal is published by IWA Publishing and is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies, Flood Risk Assessment and Management and Water resources management and optimization, together about 31.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
AimsH2Open is an Official Publication of IWA Publishing, part of the International Water Association. H2Open Journal is an open access journal that publishes original, peer-reviewed, internationally relevant articles covering all aspects of water research: fundamental science, application of science and technology, and impact of societal and political and economic factors. It considers Research Papers, critical Review articles, Short Communications, and Opinion articles; multi-disciplinary articles are encouraged.ScopeThe journal’s scope is very broad, encompassing all areas of water research in today’s society. The following interconnected topics summarise what will be covered in H2Open Journal:Integrated catchment management covering all aspects of hydrology, limnology, water quality, interfacial (sediments/water/air) science, climate–water interactions (doughts, floods), and planning and stakeholder management;Provision of alternative water sources including (but not limited to) water recycling and desalination, multiple barriers, groundwater, impact of regulatory and political aspects, stakeholder engagement;Emerging contaminants covering algal blooms, trace organics, diffuse pollution, advanced monitoring, analytical science, data management, regulation and standards, risk management, customer perception;Provision of safe water and sanitation in developing communities and disaster response contexts, education, appropriate technology, implementation for given political and socio-economic frameworks;Development of water sensitive cities that encompass stormwater management, water recycling and reuse, water footprint, smart water infrastructure, cultural practices, economics, and long term water resilience;Circular economy investigations that demonstrate advances in the minimisation of waste and pollution from the water cycle, covering energy, nutrient, biochemicals and water recovery and hence, process efficiency, carbon neutral treatment plants, associated economics, public perception and multiple barriers to close the circular value and/or supply chains;Water infrastructure including ageing infrastructure, replacement, asset management, sustainable investment, emergency response and preventative maintenance;The development and optimisation of advanced technologies including treatment and resource recovery processes, process control and water quality monitoring technologies and data management systems;Building capacity and capability in the water industry in all communities, including developing contexts, role of gender, future demand, public engagements and citizen science;All aspects of fundamental science underpinning the water cycle (natural and engineered) will be considered including aquatic chemistry, physico-chemical interactions, sustainable chemicals, biosciences and biotechnology, new materials, etc
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Science-Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 36%); most named Mainland China 5, Canada 3, Australia 3, South Africa 2, Colombia 1 (14 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesEnvironmental Science14.1%
- Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementEnvironmental Science10.8%
- Water resources management and optimizationEngineering6.6%
- Child Nutrition and Water AccessNursing6.2%
- Groundwater and Watershed AnalysisEnvironmental Science6%
- Hydrological Forecasting Using AIEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Hydrology and Drought AnalysisEnvironmental Science4.9%
- Water Quality and Pollution AssessmentEnvironmental Science4.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.54LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.72LetPub ·
- h-index
- 22OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.26OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 27LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 332 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 93 | 93 | 41 |
| 2025 | 30 | 30 | 96 |
| 2024 | 21 | 21 | 189 |
| 2023 | 44 | 44 | 275 |
| 2022 | 50 | 50 | 464 |
| 2021 | 29 | 29 | 394 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 24 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 19 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,000 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| LetPub | EUR 1,975 / GBP 1,750 / USD 2,150 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,000 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted4
- opinion articleIt considers Research Papers, critical Review articles, Short Communications, and Opinion articlesLength not stated
- research paperIt considers Research Papers, critical Review articles, Short Communications, and Opinion articlesLength not stated
- review articleIt considers Research Papers, critical Review articles, Short Communications, and Opinion articlesLength not stated
- short communicationIt considers Research Papers, critical Review articles, Short Communications, and Opinion articlesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Elsevier Publishing Ethics Policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- IWA Publishing
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2616-6518
- Society / sponsor
- IWA Publishing
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about H2Open Journal
What CAS zone is H2Open Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, H2Open Journal is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Water Resources. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of H2Open Journal?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.5; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.5, h-index 22.
How long does peer review take at H2Open Journal?
Authors report an average review time of about 24 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of H2Open Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Suggested reviewers: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of H2Open Journal based?
Of the 14 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 5 (about 36%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (5), Canada (3) and Australia (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index H2Open Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, H2Open Journal is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is H2Open Journal open access, and what is the APC?
H2Open Journal is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,000.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, DOAJ, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-30). Last updated: .