Journal profile · Engineering, Environmental
Water Research
ISSN 0043-1354 · eISSN 1879-2448 · Elsevier Ltd · ENGLAND · Semimonthly · Founded 1967
Water Research: CAS Zone 1 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 12.86; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,660; median 85 days to acceptance (94 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 53%; 2,025 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Water Research is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal, Water Treatment and Disinfection and Membrane Separation Technologies, together about 28.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Browse through a wide range of high-quality academic journals offered by Elsevier, including open access options, to enrich your research journey.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Environmental
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen RemovalEnvironmental Science11.6%
- Water Treatment and DisinfectionEnvironmental Science10.2%
- Membrane Separation TechnologiesEnvironmental Science6.8%
- Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental ImpactsEnvironmental Science6.4%
- Advanced oxidation water treatmentEnvironmental Science6.3%
- Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater TreatmentEnvironmental Science4%
- Marine and coastal ecosystemsEarth and Planetary Sciences3.9%
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton DynamicsEnvironmental Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Environmental | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 12.86LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 21.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.7LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.3LetPub ·
- h-index
- 263LetPub ·
- h-index
- 461OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 24,962OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 13.28OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 19.64%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,911LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 31,955 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,592 | 296 | 2,179 |
| 2025 | 2,025 | 499 | 22,168 |
| 2024 | 1,807 | 552 | 47,699 |
| 2023 | 1,371 | 429 | 57,937 |
| 2022 | 1,342 | 407 | 77,147 |
| 2021 | 1,067 | 375 | 71,814 |
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
85 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 71 days – 104 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 1 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 86 days
- Sample
- 94 articles with submission and acceptance dates (4,351 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)
- about 4.4 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 53%LetPub ·
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,660 / EUR 4,360 / GBP 3,730 / JPY 577,980 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1967
- ISSN
- 0043-1354
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-2448
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Water Research
What CAS zone is Water Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Water Research is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Engineering, Environmental / Environmental Sciences / Water Resources; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Water Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 12.86; CiteScore 21.6, h-index 461.
How long does peer review take at Water Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 94 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 85 days (interquartile range 71–104 days); authors report an average review time of about 4.4 months; the community-reported acceptance is “53%”. 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.
Which databases index Water Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Water Research is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Water Research open access, and what is the APC?
Water Research is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,660.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .