Journal profile · Environmental Sciences
Journal of Water and Health
ISSN 1477-8920 · eISSN 1996-7829 · IWA Publishing · ENGLAND · Quarterly · Founded 2003
Journal of Water and Health: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.37; fully open access; APC about USD 2,940; median 137 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 104 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Water and Health 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 Fecal contamination and water quality, Child Nutrition and Water Access and Water Treatment and Disinfection, together about 40.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Water and Health is an international Open Access journal publishing high-quality research, reviews, and perspectives on the health implications and management of waterborne microorganisms and chemical substances worldwide. ‘Water connects us all. It sustains life, shapes communities, and underpins global health. Yet protecting this vital resource from chemical, radiological, and microbial threats remains one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Journal of Water and Health is dedicated to advancing knowledge at the intersection of water and human health. We publish innovative research that explores water-related hazards, their health impacts, and the solutions that safeguard people and communities. Susan Petterson, Water and Health Pty Ltd and School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney (Editor-in-Chief) The journal welcomes original contributions that advance the understanding of the links between water and human health. We especially welcome submissions exploring climate-driven shifts in waterborne and vector-borne diseases, as well as emerging contaminants and risks. Submissions must highlight the links between your work and the protection of human health. Manuscripts that focus primarily on modelling, hydrology, engineering processes, technology, asset management, or surveys must demonstrate a clear and direct relevance to human health outcomes. The journal's scope includes (but is not limited to): Epidemiology and patterns of disease related to water, including the impacts of climate change Detection, fate, and ecology of pathogens and indicators in the environment Water, sanitation, and wastewater treatment Disinfection Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) Water and public health policy and regulation Community engagement in water management in relation to public health One Health Emerging technologies and innovation for water and health Water immunology Water quality monitoring, risk assessment and water safety planning Wastewater-based epidemiology and surveillance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in water and wastewater Journal of Water and Health is indexed and abstracted in leading databases, including American Chemical Society CASSI, ChronosHub, Dimensions (Digital Science), DOAJ, EBSCO Knowledge Base, Engineering Village (GEOBASE), Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers (NSD), ProQuest, PubMed, PubMed Central, Science Explorer, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), Scopus, Web of Science and X-MOL. The journal’s
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Sciences
Editor-in-chief Susan PettersonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 3, United Kingdom 2, United States 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Fecal contamination and water qualityEnvironmental Science17.1%
- Child Nutrition and Water AccessNursing14.5%
- Water Treatment and DisinfectionEnvironmental Science9.2%
- Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiologyMedicine5.3%
- Vibrio bacteria research studiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Wastewater Treatment and ReuseEnvironmental Science5%
- Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental ImpactsEnvironmental Science4.3%
- Parasitic Infections and DiagnosticsImmunology and Microbiology4.2%
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 | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Microbiology | 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 | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 2.37LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.79LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52LetPub ·
- h-index
- 87OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,190OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.45OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 97LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,050 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 86 | 86 | 16 |
| 2025 | 104 | 104 | 233 |
| 2024 | 167 | 167 | 984 |
| 2023 | 153 | 153 | 1,425 |
| 2022 | 128 | 128 | 1,757 |
| 2021 | 88 | 88 | 1,344 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
137 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 86 days – 207 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (95 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 153 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (185 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 18–36 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 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 2,940 / GBP 2,205 / EUR 2,528 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted3
- editorialSpecific article types available in each journal are listed in Editorial Manager at the point of submission.Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article Fully documented, interpreted account of significant findings of original research, including data and a critical analysis of the findings.Length not stated
- review articleReview Article Critical and comprehensive overview that provides new insights or interpretation of a subject.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, Plagiarism
- Authorship Author Contributions
ORCID required for contributing authors Model summary
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 i…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
COPE member Model summary
IWA Publishing is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
CrossCheck originality detection Model summary
To verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service, CrossCheck: crossref.org/services/similarity-check/.
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
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 2003
- ISSN
- 1477-8920
- Electronic ISSN
- 1996-7829
- Society / sponsor
- International Water Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 24, Issue 8 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- 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 Journal of Water and Health
What CAS zone is Journal of Water and Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Water and Health is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Microbiology. 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 Journal of Water and Health?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.37; CiteScore 4.8, h-index 87.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Water and Health?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 137 days (interquartile range 86–207 days); authors report an average review time of 18–36 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Water and Health based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (3), United Kingdom (2) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Water and Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Water and Health is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Water and Health open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Water and Health is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,940.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, DOAJ, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .