Journal profile · WATER RESOURCES
Water Science and Engineering
ISSN 1674-2370 · eISSN 2405-8106 · Elsevier · Netherlands
Water Science and Engineering: CAS Zone 3 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.3 (journal website); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 50 weeks (community reports); 46 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Water Science and Engineering is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 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, Hydraulic flow and structures and Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes, together about 28.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Peer review under responsibility of Hohai University. Collaboration with International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR)Water Science and Engineering is an international, peer-reviewed research publication covering new concepts, theories, methods, and techniques related to water issues. The journal aims to publish research that helps advance the theoretical and practical understanding of water resources, aquatic environment, aquatic ecology, and water engineering, with emphases placed on the innovation and applicability of science and technology in large-scale hydropower project construction, large river and lake regulation, inter-basin water transfer, hydroelectric energy development, ecological restoration, the development of new materials, and sustainable utilization of water resources.Water Science and Engineering is a peer reviewed, subsidized open access journal. Hohai University pays the open access publication fee. Authors do not have to pay any open access publication fee. All articles published open access will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read, download, copy, and distribute. Please see our Guide for Authors for information on article submission. If you require any further information or help, please visit our Support Center.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): WATER RESOURCES
Editor-in-chief Chao WangPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 25 in mainland China (about 54%); most named Mainland China 25, United States 7, United Kingdom 3, France 2, Hong Kong, China 1 (46 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesEnvironmental Science11.5%
- Hydraulic flow and structuresEngineering8.4%
- Hydrology and Sediment Transport ProcessesEnvironmental Science8.3%
- Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementEnvironmental Science6.7%
- Dam Engineering and SafetyEngineering5.7%
- Coastal and Marine DynamicsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.1%
- Hydrology and Drought AnalysisEnvironmental Science3.7%
- Hydrological Forecasting Using AIEnvironmental Science3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 3 |
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)
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 8.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.91LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.57LetPub ·
- h-index
- 48OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 265OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.28OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.27%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 48LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 693 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 44 | 44 | 19 |
| 2025 | 46 | 46 | 175 |
| 2024 | 31 | 31 | 203 |
| 2023 | 60 | 60 | 940 |
| 2022 | 46 | 46 | 768 |
| 2021 | 67 | 67 | 1,222 |
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 50 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 50 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double 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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 0 | — | — | |
| LetPub | No APC | Yes | — |
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 accepted5
- editorialContributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication: Reviews, Technical papers, Theoretical papers, Editorial, et al.Please e…Length not stated
- reviewContributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication: Reviews, Technical papers, Theoretical papers, Editorial, et al.Please e…Length not stated
- reviewsContributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication: Reviews, Technical papers, Theoretical papers, Editorial, et al.Length not stated
- technical papersContributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication: Reviews, Technical papers, Theoretical papers, Editorial, et al.Length not stated
- theoretical papersContributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication: Reviews, Technical papers, Theoretical papers, Editorial, et al.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Generative AI use must be declared Model summary
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 Changes to authorship
Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
Competing interests declaration required Model summary
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors should complete the declaration of compe…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement'. Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Permission of the soc…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymized review Model summary
This journal uses double anonymized review, which means the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1674-2370
- Electronic ISSN
- 2405-8106
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Water Science and Engineering
What CAS zone is Water Science and Engineering in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Water Science and Engineering is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Water Resources. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Water Science and Engineering?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 5.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 8.7, h-index 48.
How long does peer review take at Water Science and Engineering?
Authors report an average review time of about 50 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Water Science and Engineering based?
Of the 46 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 25 (about 54%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (25), United States (7) and United Kingdom (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Water Science and Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Water Science and Engineering is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Water Science and Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
Water Science and Engineering is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .